


Coming Home

by gxldenskyes



Series: Down to Earth [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:40:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 53,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxldenskyes/pseuds/gxldenskyes
Summary: Sarah Jane gets the biggest surprise when an old friend comes to the door...
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams, Eleventh Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith, Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith, Rani Chandra/Clyde Langer, Sanjay/Luke Smith
Series: Down to Earth [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147088
Comments: 18
Kudos: 16





	1. Same Old Face

Sarah Jane sat at her desk as she typed quietly. She was in her own little world as she typed, feeling her motivation slip as she finished her sentence. When she did finish her sentence, Sarah Jane sat back slowly as she crossed her arms. Her eyes drifted off to the pictures and notes on her wall and around her desk. She smiled at some of the pictures of her and the kids or with her friends at UNIT and of him. The Doctor. She spotted the couple of pictures of him when he was all teeth and curls and when he was the dandy. She then spotted a framed one of him in the reincarnation before the last one she saw. That tall, skinny man in the brown or sometimes blue suit. She picked it up, looking at it quietly. He definitely was incredibly handsome in this incarnation, all the different versions of the Doctor were handsome but that one, at least to Sarah Jane, she found the most attractive (although Teeth and Curls and the Dandy did have special places in her heart). She thought about the last time she saw him. He was tall and brunette and had floppy hair and wore a bow tie. The Doctor definitely looked good in that reincarnation but he looked so young. It made her feel a little insecure to say the least.

Sarah Jane almost jumped out of her skin when her doorbell went. She sat up as she took off her reading glasses. She put them down to the side before heading downstairs. Sarah Jane thought it was probably a parcel or someone going around the doors. She grabbed her keys from the bowl as she went to unlock the door. When Sarah Jane opened the door, she could not believe who stood in front of her.

“Hello, Sarah.” It was the Doctor. The Doctor in his Tenth regeneration, the one before the one at the moment, the one in the framed picture. He grinned as he looked at her, he looked a little beaten up, his clothes all rugged.

“But… but you…” Sarah Jane stuttered, pointing to her face, “You changed. You don’t look like that anymore.”

“Oh, he’s got a different face now? Good for him although I always thought my face was the best.” The Doctor laughed, “No, I’m not the actual Doctor, well, I am. Oh, it’s hard to explain. Remember the Daleks, planets in the sky, big bad Davros, two Doctors. Well, three including Donna. The Doctor Donna.”

“Yes, yes. I do.” Sarah Jane nodded, “You’re the other one then?”

He said nothing as he took her hand and brought it to his chest. He pressed her hand against his chest, his hand over hers. Sarah Jane could feel his single heartbeat. She looked up to him as he still smiled, his warm brown eyes looking into her green ones.

“The human Doctor.”

“Come in.” Sarah Jane took his hand, bringing him inside before she looked outside, checking no one saw him.

“Ooh, nice place, Sarah.” He grinned as he looked around, “You really do have some style.”

“Come into the kitchen, you must be starving.” Sarah Jane brought him into the kitchen.

“Nah, I’m alright. I ate when I came over from Calais.” The Doctor replied. Sarah Jane turned to him with a concerned look as he paused, “Sometimes I forget that I’m not a Time Lord anymore. Could I have some soup? Sort of having some cravings for soup.”

“What flavour?” Sarah Jane opened her cupboards, “I’ve got tomato, French onion, chicken, minestrone?”

“Minestrone? Yuck! No, just some lovely tomato soup.” The Doctor replied as he sat down at the round dining table. He watched as Sarah Jane took out one of her pots and poured the soup into it, putting it on the stove, “Would you like me to do that?”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll manage.”

“Okay. Thank you so much, I hate to put you out of your way like this.”

“It’s fine. You got me at the right time. So, how did you get back here? Weren’t you in the parallel universe?”

“How did you know that?”

“I heard him talking about it. I think to Donna.”

“Oh yeah. I was with Rose and her family. Not Mickey though, he stayed here.”

“Yeah, I know. He got married to Martha.”

“He did?!” The Doctor’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. They’ve got a baby now too. Little August.” Sarah Jane smiled, “Though they’re still chasing aliens. They’re freelancing.”

“Good for them.” The Doctor grinned before he got back to his story, “Anyway! Parallel universe. I was with Rose and then I came here.”

“Is Rose here too?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No. She, um, she stayed behind.” The Doctor itched his head, “Let’s just say some crushes are best to stay as crushes. Still, it was good while it lasted. It would have never worked out though.”

“I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane said softly. She remembered meeting Rose and how it was so clear she was besotted with the Doctor. She understood how that felt and she got the chance to be with him (at least, in a sense). But it was clear it didn’t work out and she genuinely was sorry for that.

“Don’t apologise. We’re better off this way.” The Doctor smiled.

“So, how did you get through to this universe?” Sarah Jane asked.

“There was a crack in reality. The walls of the universe were collapsing entirely and I managed to slip through.” The Doctor explained.

“A crack in reality?”

“Yes. It’s very complicated and a very long story. I’m assuming he fixed it, didn’t he?”

“I’m not sure, probably. He never mentioned much about a crack, just who he was travelling with now. A married couple.”

“Ooh, I bet he’s enjoying that!”

Sarah Jane laughed. She started to dish his soup as she brought it over to him.

“Would you like any bread?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Please. Two slices.” The Doctor smiled.

“So, where did you end up when you came back?” Sarah Jane asked as she brought over his bread and some butter. She sat next to him.

“Norway.”

“Norway?!”

“Yes. Bad Wolf Bay. I then worked around Europe as I made it here.”

“How long ago was that? A month ago?”

“No. No, more like over a year ago.”

“Over a year?!” Sarah Jane practically shrieked, “You could have called me! I could have found a way to get you back…” She almost said ‘home’, “Back to London.”

“Living as a human for a couple of years has made me a little too determined to work and make it here on my own.” The Doctor replied as he ate.

“Well, you always were stubborn.” Sarah Jane replied. She then paused, “When you say ‘here’, you mean…”

“I mean here of course. Thirteen Bannerman Road.” The Doctor replied.

“But you’ve never been here. At least not before you… appeared.” Sarah Jane struggled to find the right word.

“I will always remember my best friend’s address though.” The Doctor leaned forward with a grin.

Sarah Jane chuckled as she itched her head. She looked out the window before back to the human Doctor as he ate. She couldn’t believe he was right in front of her, it was unbelievable. How could it be possible?

“So, the whole ‘you being human’ thing? Does that mean you have a human name or you just go by Doctor?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Oh, I had a human name. I had a degree and everything.” He laughed, “The Doctor part actually meant something.”

“What was your human name?”

“John Smith.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

“Maybe I could change it now I’m in this universe. Something swish like Clive or Vincent or Alonso?! What do you think?”

“I think John’s good.” 

“Yeah, me too.”

The two giggled as John continued his soup. They then headed up to the attic as Sarah Jane showed him around the house.

“So, this is your famous attic in Ealing?” John grinned as he looked around. He bounced down the steps as he looked at the alien artifacts before he spun around to look at Sarah Jane, a smile on his lips, “It’s brilliant!”

“Wait for the best bit.” Sarah Jane joined him in front of the chimney, “Mr. Smith, I need you.”

The chimney started to fold out, a loud fanfare playing as a super alien computer unfolded. John’s eyes lit up as he looked at Mr. Smith. 

“Wow.” John grinned, “This is the best bit.”

“Sarah Jane, I’m detecting the Doctor has only heart working.” Mr. Smith said.

“Well, good because he’s only got one heart. He’s human, caused by a metacrisis. John, Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith, John.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith.” John smiled.

“And you, John.” Mr. Smith replied.

“I really do like it in here.” John looked around. He turned to her, a big grin on his face. Sarah Jane almost felt like the Doctor showing someone his TARDIS as she watched John. She then watched as his face fell, “Where’s K-9?”

“He’s at Oxford with Luke.” Sarah Jane replied as she crossed her arms, “He needed someone to keep an eye on him.”

“Oxford, eh?” John raised his brow with a grin, “Good for him. What about Clyde and Rani?”

“At university too. Rani’s at UCL and Clyde’s at the Royal College of Art.”

“Good for them. Good for them.” John nodded as he looked around.

Suddenly, they heard the front door open from downstairs and someone walk into the house.

“Sarah Jane?” A soft female voice called through the house.

“Oh. Wait here.” Sarah Jane said as she left the attic and headed downstairs. 

Sky was hanging up her coat at the door before putting her bag down at the side. When she noticed Sarah Jane walking down the steps. She smiled as she saw the young girl, joining her on the landing. 

“Hi.” Sarah Jane smiled, “How was school?”  
“So amazing! We learned about magnesium and the French Revolution and how to bake a chocolate cake.” Sky grinned as she handed a tupperware box over to Sarah Jane, “I brought you some. I may have eaten the rest at school.”

Sarah Jane giggled as she looked down to the tupperware box full of chocolate cake. 

“That sounds like the best school day ever!” John said from the steps. 

“I thought I told you to stay upstairs?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“Wait a minute. You’re the… you’re the Doctor?” Sky pointed, “But you said his face was different now?”

“I am the human version of the Doctor in his tenth regeneration. I also go by John.” John walked down the steps as he held out his hand for her to shake it, “And you must be…”  
“Sky. I’m Sarah Jane’s daughter.” Sky pointed up to Sarah Jane.

“Daughter? My, Sarah, you have been a busy bee.” John nudged Sarah Jane’s arm.

“Why don’t we go sit down?” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Why are you dressed like that?” Sky asked.

“Let’s just say that I’ve been through the wars. Why are you dressed like that?”

“Because I go to school.”

“Oh yeah.”

“John is going to be staying with us for a little while.” Sarah Jane butted in. John widened his eyes, he didn’t even have to ask her but she was letting him stay. She trusted him and she didn’t even know him. Not really. Not like this, “ Just to get him back on his feet. Is that okay?”

Sky said nothing as she looked at John for a moment. John watched her as she looked at him. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if she said no. She then looked to Sarah Jane, an inquisitive look on her face.

“Shall I call him dad?”

Sarah Jane and John’s eyes widened when Sky asked that.

“No! No! Not at all.” Sarah Jane laughed nervously as she itched the back of her head, “You don’t need to call him dad. There would be no reason for you to call him dad, right, John?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” John cleared his throat, crossing his arms, “No reason at all.”

“Why don’t you go get changed, hm?” Sarah Jane smiled, “We’ll get dinner sorted soon.”

Sky nodded before getting up and leaving the living room. Sarah Jane itched the back of her head, sighing softly.

“I’m sorry about that.” Sarah Jane said.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m assuming you adopted her then? You didn’t…” John felt nervous asking this question.

“No, I didn’t get pregnant with a twelve year old child. That isn’t possible, in many different ways.” 

“Well, in some cultures it occurs.”

“Not in this one. She was actually left on my doorstep as a baby. She was made by the Fleshkind as a bomb to destroy the Metalkind but we managed to diffuse her. She grew up to how she looks now and I adopted her. That was a few months ago now.”

“Well, she seems absolutely brilliant.” John grinned.

“Yeah, she is.” Sarah Jane nodded with a proud smile. She then remembered John’s rugged clothing and she covered her face, “Oh, you need new clothes.”

“Oh yeah.” John looked down, “I forgot about that.”

“How about I get you settled in the spare room and then you can go shower? You could try on some clothes that Luke’s left and then tomorrow, we go into town and go shopping for some clothes.” Sarah Jane said.

“That sounds great.” John grinned. He then stepped forward, his hand on her arm, “Sarah, I can’t thank you enough for this. You don’t know how much this all means to me.”  
“It’s no trouble.” Sarah Jane smiled. She looked into his eyes as she patted his arm, “I’ll go get the pizza menus. We usually have a takeaway on a Friday.”

“It’s Friday?!”

Sarah Jane just laughed. She had no idea how this was going to but she knew that it definitely will be interesting.


	2. The Scrapyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke, Clyde and Rani come home and are surprised to see John.

Luke pulled up to his mother’s house, parking on the drive. He had picked up Clyde and Rani along the way with K-9 in the back of his car as well. They all got out of the car as they laughed and chatted. They grabbed their bags before heading to the door as Luke let himself in, Clyde, Rani and K-9 following behind.

“Mum!” Luke called through the house as he walked in.

“Hey, you.” Sarah Jane beamed as she came downstairs. She greeted the three, “You all okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine.” Luke smiled, “Have you been out?”

“Oh yeah. Me and Sky went into town to the shops. Listen, why don’t you leave your stuff in Sky’s room and come up to the attic? There’s something I need to talk with you all about.” Sarah Jane said, about to go upstairs.

“Is everything okay, Sarah Jane?” Clyde asked.

“Oh yeah. Everything’s fine, I just need to talk to you all and show you something. Or more, someone.” Sarah Jane replied.

Luke, Clyde and Rani looked at one another, incredibly confused. They then followed Sarah Jane up to the attic as they dumped their bags in Sky’s room. When they walked in, they spotted Sky at Sarah Jane’s desk and a man who stood at the bookcases. They both turned when they saw Luke, Clyde and Rani.

“Doctor?” Luke frowned.

“But wait, you changed your face! We saw you when you looked like that!” Rani pointed.

“Yeah! You looked like a baby!” Clyde scrunched his face up.

“No, this is the human Doctor. He was created due to a metacrisis when there were all the planets in the sky.” Sarah Jane explained.

“It’s a very long story. It does involve a cut-off hand.” John smiled. He was dressed in the clothes they bought for him at the shops, just a t-shirt and a pair of jeans with his typical converse trainers. He lifted his hand, wiggling his fingers, “This one to be exact.” John then held out his hand for them to shake it, “Call me John. John Smith.”

“Smith?” Rani raised a brow with a grin as she looked to Sarah Jane.

“The only coincidence to exist in the universe, Rani.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Exactly. No relation or marriage or anything like that.” John looked at Sarah Jane.

“None at all.” Sarah Jane replied as she shuffled in her boots.

“How did you show up here then? Were you living abroad or on a funky planet?” Clyde asked.

“I was in a parallel universe and got through a crack in the universe. Very hard to explain. That was over a year and a bit ago and I’ve been making my way here. I finally got here yesterday.” John grinned before he put his arm around Sarah Jane, “And your lovely mum agreed to putting me up.”   
“Just until he can get on his feet.” Sarah Jane added as she looked up to him.

“Yeah, of course.” John nodded. He then turned to the three teens as he grinned at them. John noticed as he grinned, “K-9!”

“Master.” K-9 greeted him.

“You recognise me even in this body? What a good boy you are!”

Everyone soon got settled and they were all asking John different questions about how he got here and why he was here. Sarah Jane watched on as they all talked and got along like a house on fire and she smiled. She wouldn’t have admitted it but she was already enjoying John’s company. She knew he would probably leave soon once he got everything sorted but it was nice to have him here for a while. Definitely the closest thing to the Doctor and she was happy with that.

“Is everyone finished?” Sarah Jane asked as she stood. Everyone nodded, “Right, I’ll take this all downstairs.”

“I’ll help you.” John stood.

“No, no. It’s okay. I’ll manage.” Sarah Jane smiled at him.

“And then I’ll manage with you.” John replied as he grabbed the tray, only letting Sarah Jane grab a couple of mugs.

The two left the attic, leaving the teens to discuss the recent events on Bannerman Road.

“This is crazy.” Clyde said, “How did he do that?”

“Time Lord regeneration energy, Master Clyde.” K-9 explained, “When fresh after regeneration, Time Lords can heal their bodies and when absorbed, a metacrisis is caused. Resulting in Master John.”

“I wonder if there is one of the one with the long scarf. That’s the one Sarah Jane liked the most.” Clyde said, “I bet she would love to see him again.”

“Dunno, Clyde. Have you seen how happy she’s with John?” Rani gestured to the door.

“What do you mean?” Luke asked.

“Oh come on, Luke. We haven’t even been here two hours and I’ve never seen her smile bigger! It was so clear with the Doctor how she felt about him and John being here is perfect for them both.” Rani explained, “I don’t think it’s one sided either. She waited all that time and then met him again and he kept coming back in that reincarnation.”

“That’s very true.” Clyde pointed before he nudged Luke, “Looks like you two have a new dad!”

“He’s only staying until he’s getting himself sorted though.” Sky said before she paused. She looked at her brother, “I did ask Sarah Jane if I should call him dad. But the thing is, I don’t even call Sarah Jane mum so now I’m thinking about it, that would be a bit weird.”

They all laughed quietly before suddenly, Mr. Smith started to flash red. They all looked as they frowned.

“Alert, alert.” Mr. Smith announced, “Alien fleet approaching Earth.”

“Mum!” Luke shouted.

The door swung open and Sarah Jane and John entered. Sarah Jane walked down the steps quickly as she stood in front of Mr. Smith.

“Who is it?” Sarah Jane asked.

“The Chelloth.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Do you know who they are?” Sarah Jane asked John.

“Not in this body.” John shook his head. He stepped forward, “Could you show me a visual of them?”

“Certainly, John.” Mr. Smith replied. He brought up the visual of the Chelloth. The alien diagram showed a very tall, gaunt and pale soldier. It’s face was similar to the Trickster and Sarah Jane couldn’t drop the similarity.

“That looks like the Trickster.” Sarah Jane pointed. She could feel herself become very worried, thinking he was going to come back again, “Is this where the Pantheons come from?”   
“No. The Chelloth are from the planet Chellista 3. They have no relation to the Trickster.” Mr. Smith explained.

“Oh, yes!” John exclaimed, “I do know them! The Chelloth Empire. Oh how I could be so thick?”

“An empire?” Clyde asked, “Great!”

“Do you know where they’re going to land?” Rani asked.

“Their ship seems to be heading towards the Ealing scrapyard.” Mr. Smith showed a map on his screen.

“Isn’t that the one where we saw Ruby when the Dark Horde came?” Clyde asked.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane said as she jogged up the steps as she grabbed her keys, “Let’s go.”

They all headed downstairs, rushing out to the cars.

“We’re definitely lucky that both our parents are out right now.” Clyde said to Rani, “Otherwise they would not be happy at us zooming around with Sarah Jane instead of them.”

Sarah Jane, John and Sky got into Sarah Jane’s car whilst Luke, Clyde and Rani got into Luke’s. They drove to the scrapyard and parked outside. The gates were all chained up as Sarah Jane broke them with her sonic lipstick. They all walked in, noticing how big the scrapyard was.

“We better split up.” Rani said.

“I think so.” Sarah Jane nodded, “You two go together that way. Luke and Sky, you go this way.”

They all nodded as they disappeared in the ways Sarah Jane sent them. It was now just Sarah Jane and John left. She turned back to him as she noticed he wore a smile on his lips.

“What?” Sarah Jane asked.

“You know exactly what you’re doing.” John said, “I’m glad I’m in very capable hands.”

“Oh, come on.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “You’ve done more stuff like this than me really. I’m surprised you’re not leading the way.”

“Not really my place. You’re the boss.” John nudged her gently.

“Not really the boss. More Mother Hen.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Still our leader.” John raised his brow.

Sarah Jane just chuckled as she walked forward. John watched as she walked on. He smiled to himself, happy to be joining them. John was in a bit of a daydream as he thought about everything. He was so thankful that Sarah Jane let him and was even able to put him up. He had no idea where he would have gone if she hadn’t let him stay. This is what he was working towards when he came to this universe and worked his way through Europe. It was to be with Sarah Jane. She was the only option. How could she not be? She was his best friend. She was his…

“Are you coming?” Sarah Jane turned back to him. She was a little further ahead now.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah of course,” John jogged up after her.

The two walked further into the scrapyard. Sarah Jane scanned with her watch, walking quietly. John stayed close to Sarah Jane, looking over her shoulder as she scanned. Her watch beeped quietly, getting louder ever so slightly but nothing too extreme.

“This is way more exciting than Torchwood in the parallel universe. It was all guns, missions and leather.” John said, “This feels right. It feels like old times.”

“Do you remember when we travelled together?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Of course I do. Some of my fondest memories. I have all the memories up to the point I was created. Those were then all my own memories.” John replied.

“This is a bit of a stupid question but um, was there a version of me in the,” Sarah Jane itched her head, “In the parallel universe?”

“Oh yeah.”

“There is?”

“Of course there is. She worked at Torchwood too. Oh, she was lovely! So kind and thoughtful and smart. She was married. A guy I think called Peter or something, I only met him the once.”

“Oh.” Sarah Jane said softly. She nodded as she continued, “It makes sense I guess.”

“You know what she was called?”

“What?”

“Mary Jane.”

Sarah Jane paused as she looked to John. She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. 

“You’re joking, aren’t you?” A smile grew on her face slowly.

“I swear.” John chuckled.

“God.” Sarah Jane giggled as she shook her head, “Why didn’t you go to her then? Surely you could have stayed with her.”

“Well, I could but it wouldn’t exactly have been right. You know, her being married and all. There was another reason as well.” John stopped in his tracks.

“What was that?” Sarah Jane asked, still looking at her watch but not really paying that much attention to it.

“She wasn’t you.”

Sarah Jane’s head shot straight up to look at John. They stared into each other’s eyes, unsure if one of them should say something. Sarah Jane studied his face. The past two days had already been crazy. She couldn’t believe he was here. Her mind felt so frazzled everytime she was with John. Sarah Jane couldn’t describe it. She just felt so confused right now.

A laser shot past them, missing their heads by inches as it hit a scrapped car. Sarah Jane let out a yelp as it shot past them. John grabbed her quickly by the waist, getting her out of the way as they hid behind a large pile of scrapped cars.

“Are you alright?” John asked quietly.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Sarah Jane panted, “You?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We need to find out where that came from.” John looked around.

“Well, that might help.” Sarah Jane pointed.

John turned to see three of the Chelloth soldiers approaching them.

They were incredibly tall and held large guns. They wore dark overalls and big Doc Marten-like boots. They looked around for Sarah Jane and John, moving parts of metal out of the way. They made their way slowly to where Sarah Jane and John were and they knew they had to run. John took Sarah Jane’s hand and they started to run through the scrapyard. The Chelloth soldiers shot at them, now running after them.

“Sky!” Luke shouted after his sister as he chased her, “We need to get out of here. Why are you going further in?”

“They have guns! I can stop them.” Sky looked back before she stopped, looking from behind the large pile of cars. She could see the Chelloth walking around, clearly looking for Sarah Jane and John.

Luke joined her as he stood behind his sister. They assessed the situation, scared to even breath.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Luke whispered.

“Of course.” Sky rolled her eyes.

Sky slowly rose her hand to the Chelloth, sending a spark of her electricity to them. The three soldiers all fell back as they dropped their guns. Sky and Luke laughed as the two high-fived. Clyde and Rani ran up after them, hand in hand.

“What was that?” Rani asked.

“The Chelloth.” Luke replied, “They were chasing after mum and John. Sky blew up their guns.”

“Way to go, Sparky!” Clyde nudged Sky softly.

“Find them!” A very deep voice shouted.

“We need to find Sarah Jane and John, come on.” Rani said.

The four ran away from the centre of the scrapyard. As they ran, they saw Sarah Jane and John run past still hand in hand.

“Mum!” Luke shouted.

“Luke.” Sarah Jane stopped. Her and John walked up to them, “Are you all okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine.” Luke nodded.

“They went this way!” The same deep voice shouted.

“We need to go!” John said.

They ran through the scrapyard, Clyde and Rani leading the way. They looked around as they ran, trying to make sure the Chelloth soldiers weren’t nearby. As they turned to the corner, Clyde hit his head off something hard. He fell down onto the ground as he rubbed his head.

“Are you alright?” Rani crouched down to her boyfriend.

“It was like I walked into a brick wall.” Clyde replied as he rubbed his head.

John stepped forward, holding out his hand as he felt the solid object in front of him. Slowly, what looked like ripples of water appeared as a large, silver spaceship appeared.

“Wow!” Sky’s eyes widened.

“It’s massive.” Rani looked up.

“Sarah, I need your sonic.” John said. Sarah Jane walked over, handing him the sonic lipstick. As he started to sonic the door of the ship, he turned to her, “Remind me to make my own sonic when we get home.”

The spaceship door opened as they stepped back. Rani and Luke helped Clyde up as John led the way. The spaceship was huge and was pretty much a large control room. They walked around quietly, prepared for any surprise attacks.

“This is… this is amazing.” Rani said softly.

“It is.” John nodded as he looked around. He walked up to the controls slowly, looking for any clues. He looked back, “Luke?”

Luke walked towards him. John brought him over, his arm wrapped around him

“You think you could help me reprogram this ship? I think we could maybe send them on a one way trip back home.” John explained.

“Yeah, I think so.” Luke nodded.

“What are you doing?” Sarah Jane walked up to them.

“I think I can send them back home and make them stay home.” John turned.

“Well, what’s that going to do? It’s a whole Empire, they’ll just have more come to Earth.”

“We’ll get a hold of the Shadow Proclamation. They can help us.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

“We can get Mr. Smith to contact them. Can’t we?”

“I don’t think that’s the best decision, do you?” A deep voice said behind them. They all turned to see the clear leader of the fleet. He held his gun at them, walking towards Sarah Jane, John and Luke slowly.

“Why are you on this planet?” Sarah Jane asked.

The Chelloth leader laughed. He stepped closer to Sarah Jane.

“We heard all the legends of Earth. Torchwood, UNIT, the last of the Time Lords who so loved humans. But you, Sarah Jane Smith, you are something else.” He said, “Your name is spoken throughout the cosmos. Former companion of the Doctor, now defender of the Earth.”

“Leave her alone.” John stepped in front of Sarah Jane.

The Chelloth leader paused as he studied John’s face. He started to laugh again.

“I know your face. You’re the Doctor. But wait, he changed his face. I heard the stories, the two Doctors. The human Doctor.” The Chelloth leader said, “Well then. You’re no Time Lord anymore. You can’t save this puny planet like he could.”

“I’m just as powerful as he is.” John stepped forward. He then turned back, grabbing Sarah Jane’s sonic lipstick and held it to the controls. He activated it as the controls exploded and sparked. 

They all stepped back, trying to not get hurt. Sarah Jane made sure Luke was close to her as she walked over to Clyde, Rani and Sky. They watched as John looked at the frazzled controls before back to the Chelloth leader.

“I should take you to the Shadow Proclamation to pay for the Doctor’s crimes.” The Chelloth leader said. He raised his gun to John as he started to laugh, “But then again, I would love to kill you myself.”

John didn’t react, closing his eyes tightly. Sarah Jane was about to run out in front of him but Sky lifted her hand, sending a shot of electricity to the Chelloth’s gun. He fell back as he was knocked out. John opened his eyes, wondering what stopped the Chelloth.

“Sky!” Sarah Jane exclaimed, grabbing her adopted daughter by the upper arms, “Why did you do that? You know to not use your powers under any circumstances. You could hurt yourself.”

“He was going to kill him. I couldn’t stand there.” Sky replied, “You would have done the same.”

Sarah Jane knew she couldn’t say anything. Sky was right. She would have done anything to save him. To save anyone. She brought her into her arms as she held her tightly. She kissed her forehead as John approached them.

“Sky,” John said, “Do you think you can help me with something?”

“Yeah.” Sky nodded. She broke her hug with Sarah Jane with a smile.

John guided Sky over to the controls before turning back to Luke, Clyde and Rani.

“You three, look around the ship. Make sure there’s no one on the ship.” John instructed before looking back to Sky, “Come on over. I’ll explain what we need to do.”

Sarah Jane watched as her son and his best friends walk further into the ship. She looked back to John and Sky and walked over to them.

“What are you doing?” Sarah Jane asked John, “What are you trying to do?”

“Sky can help me. She can manipulate electricity, right?” 

“Yes.”

“Right, well. She can help me with this ship.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to destroy it.”

Sarah Jane’s heart dropped. Why was he doing this? Why would he want to destroy the ship and why the hell was he using Sky to do so?

“Why are you going to destroy it? You can’t do that. You’ll kill us.” Sarah Jane said.

“We’re not going to die.” John chuckled as he moved around the controls, “We’ll get off before it detonates.”

“And leave the Chelloth to die?” Sarah Jane asked as she followed him around the controls, “I don’t think so. This is not the way.”

“They will take over the Earth. Don’t you think this is better than nothing?”

“There is another way. There always is a better way. You of all people know that!”

“Do I?” John turned back to her, “Did he when he destroyed Gallifrey and his people? Did I when I destroyed the Crucible?”

“That was different.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“Was it? Is it any different now?” John asked.

Sarah Jane had no clue what to say. She had never seen the Doctor like this so how was she going to deal with John like this? Her eyes began to sting, a lump growing in her throat. She wanted to break apart but instead, she took a deep breath as she puffed up her chest.

“You will not risk my daughter.” Sarah Jane stepped forward, “You aren’t him anymore. You are human. Use that humanity properly. Do not kill.”

John wanted to speak but instead, Sarah Jane walked away. She walked over to Sky, talking to her quietly before moving her off the ship. Luke, Clyde and Rani soon came back.

“Sky’s waiting outside, you need to go.” Sarah Jane walked over to them.

“But wait? What about you two? We can’t leave you.” Clyde frowned.

“You have to go.” Sarah Jane said, “If we don’t come out, drive home and do not look back.”

“Mum.” Luke went to speak.

“Luke, please don’t argue. I’m sorry, I am but you have to.” Sarah Jane put her hands on his shoulders. She smiled, “Don’t worry about me.”

Luke simply nodded as she brought him into his arms. The two hugged before Luke led the way. She smiled at Clyde and Rani before watching the two following after Luke. When they left, she closed her eyes as she sighed. Suddenly, the ship started to shake. Sarah Jane’s eyes shot open as she turned around. Sky had already used some of her powers on the ship and now, it was going into a meltdown. She watched as John scrambled at the controls.

“We need to leave.” Sarah Jane rushed up to him.

“No. I need to stop this. You go.” John said.

Sarah Jane said nothing as she went over to the other controls. John turned to see her trying to find a way to stop the ship exploding.

“I don’t think I can stop this.” John ran his fingers through his hair as he started to panic.

Sarah Jane took her sonic lipstick from him. She sonicked a panel under the controls and took it off. She crouched down and started to sonic the wires underneath. They sparked as Sarah Jane moved away but continued.

When she was done, Sarah Jane got up. She ran up to the controls. She typed fast, watching the screens. John frowned as he watched her. He then rushed up to her, trying to understand the screens.

“What are you doing?” John asked.

“Sending a distress call to Chellista 3.” Sarah Jane replied, “If I can’t stop the detonation then I can get them home safe. That’s enough for me.”

John watched her as she finished up the call. The ship started to boot up as Chelloth soldiers boarded the ship. They held their guns to Sarah Jane and John as they held up their hands.

“No! Don’t shoot! We’re trying to help you. Let us leave so you can go home.” Sarah Jane tried.

“Go.” A Chelloth soldier gestured to the door.

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane nodded.

Sarah Jane and John ran out of the ship. They ran through the scrapyard as they reached the cars. The kids greeted Sarah Jane before they all watched the ship disappear into the atmosphere.

“What did you do?” Rani asked.

“We sent them home.” Sarah Jane explained before she walked to her car and opened the door, “But I don’t think we’ll be seeing the last of them. Come on, let’s go home.”


	3. Someone to Stop Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John knows Sarah Jane is angry about what happened with the Chelloth and decides to see if she’s alright.

They all pulled up to the house. They all got out, all caught off guard by Sarah Jane slamming her car door. Luke let Clyde and Rani in the house as they went to go get their bags as he stood at the door whilst the others went in.

“Sarah Jane?” Sky asked.

“Yep?” Sarah Jane turned to her.

“Do you mind if I go to Mr. and Mrs. Chandra’s?” Sky asked, “We’re going to see them and then go see Mrs. Langer.”

“Are you sure? Are you not tired? You did use a lot of your powers today.” Sarah Jane asked as she rested her hands on her upper arms.

“I’m okay.” Sky nodded.

“You promise?” Sarah Jane raised her brow.

“I promise, Sarah Jane.” Sky replied.

Sarah Jane tried a small smile. Sky gave her a cuddle as she walked out of the house. Clyde and Rani then walked to before Luke let John through.

“You sure you don’t want to come over, mum?” Luke asked, “They could meet John.”

“It’s alright. I’m a little tired.” Sarah Jane said with a small smile.

“Okay.” Luke nodded, “I’ll see you later.”

Sarah Jane just nodded. Luke shut the door behind him and John turned to Sarah Jane. He was about to say something but she stomped up the stairs. John watched as she headed upstairs, knowing very well she was angry. His heart dropped.

\- - -

“Hey, do you think Sarah Jane’s alright?” Clyde asked, “She didn’t look so pleased when she got out of the car.”

“Yeah, did something happen with John?” Rani asked.

“He wanted to blow up the ship.” Sky turned to them, “She wasn’t happy about that.”

“I’m sure they’ll talk it out.” Luke replied as he looked up to the house. He looked back to his sister and his friends, “We’re best to leave them. I’m sure mum will sort it out.”

\- - -

Sarah Jane walked into the attic, taking off her coat and throwing it on the leather couch. She walked over to her desk, sitting down as she huffed. She crossed her arms, so angry about what just happened.

“Sarah Jane, are you alright?” Mr. Smith asked.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Sarah Jane replied, “I’m sorry. Do you mind closing yourself away? I need a moment to myself.”

“Certainly, Sarah Jane.” And with that, Mr. Smith folded himself in the chimney.

Sarah Jane sighed as she looked around the room for K-9. She couldn’t find him and assumed he was in Sky’s room. She heard the door open and some steps enter the room.

John noticed her back facing him. He knew her well enough to know she was angry. John could tell by the way she breathed. His heart thundered in his chest, hoping to God he hadn’t ruined things already. 

“Sarah, are you alright?” John asked softly.

“I’m fine.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She was so angry.

“Sarah, I’m sorry.” John said, “I really am. I don’t know what I was thinking, what I was doing.”

“I think you knew exactly what you were doing.” Sarah Jane spun in her chair, her arms crossed, “All the things you said, it was like… it was like you wanted to kill them.”

“I wanted to do what was right. I tried to do the best I could.” John thought about everything that happened today. He felt a lump in his throat grow as he sat down on the leather couch. He held his head in his hands as he breathed deeply before looking back up to her. Finally, he spoke, “I thought I was over this. He was over this. All this bloodlust and destruction. In the parallel universe, it was all guns. I couldn’t be fixed. He said that Rose had fixed him after the Time War but she never did that for me. That is one of the reasons I came here, I couldn’t face it anymore.”

“You wanted me to fix you?” Sarah Jane asked, “I can’t do that. Only you can.”

“How? How can I?” John asked, “I couldn’t do it myself when I was him. How can I do it on my own now?” John looked around himself before he stood up, “It was a mistake to come here. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Sarah Jane watched as he got up and was about to leave the attic. She shot up, going after him as he left the attic.

“John, wait. Please.” Sarah Jane rushed after him, “Please wait.”

“No, I should leave. I put you in danger, your children. I can’t be here.” John went into the spare room where he was staying. He started grabbing his clothes and started to pack.

“John, please just listen to me. We can talk about this.” Sarah Jane tried. She grabbed his hands, “John, stop.”

John sighed as he closed his eyes. Slowly, he opened them to look at Sarah Jane. She studied his face as she still held his hands, giving them a soft squeeze. Sarah Jane felt horrible for John. It was clear he was struggling and she wanted to help him. She had no clue how she was going to do that but she knew she had to. This was their life now and for however long John was going to stay, she had to help him.

“What happened today was dangerous and scary and it should have never happened. You almost killed a whole fleet but we stopped it. You wanted to stop it when you realised what you were doing. When you were created, it was in the midst of Dalek warfare, no wonder you wanted to do what you did. But you’re on Earth now, you’re not at Torchwood and you’re not him anymore. You are John Smith and you are human.” Sarah Jane looked into his eyes, “When saving the world, I try to teach the kids not to kill. That there’s a better way the way he taught me. I could teach you the same way. We can get you settled in properly, you could find a job, get everything sorted.” She tried a smile, “A respectable part of society.”

“How do you know it will work?” John asked. An almost sorrowful look on his face.

“Because I have a lot of faith in you.” Sarah Jane replied, “As much faith that I have in the Doctor and you were once the Doctor. I still trust you the same.”

John said nothing as he let go of Sarah Jane’s hands. He sat down on the bed as he looked at the floor, his hands clasped together. Sarah Jane watched as he sighed. She sat next to him on the bed. 

“When I met Donna, she said that I… he needed someone to stop him.” John turned to her, “Maybe I do too.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” Sarah Jane replied before she looked at him, “If you need me to be that, then I will.”

John smiled as he looked at her. He looked back at his hands, sighing softly. He thought for a moment before looking back at Sarah Jane.

“It’s strange isn't it? In the old days, it would have been me, or him rather, telling you not to be reckless.” John said softly, “Maybe it’s best if I’m the companion for a bit, eh? Do as I’m told.”

“Well, the kids don’t really do as they’re told so you definitely won’t.” Sarah Jane replied.

The two laughed. Their laughter died softly as they looked to one another. Finally, Sarah Jane smiled as she stood.

“Come on, why don’t we put all these clothes away? We can then maybe think about dinner.”

“Yes. Yes, let’s do that. That sounds… brilliant.”


	4. Camping Beneath The Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hearing about a meteor shower, the gang go on a camping trip.

It was a couple of days since the Chelloth came and it was Luke’s birthday. They were celebrating his ‘eighteenth’ birthday and Sarah Jane decided to have a party for him at the house. She had invited all of their friends and Sarah Jane was surprisingly not as stressed as she thought she was going to be. As she talked to Luke, she noticed his flatmate, Sanjay behind them. She could tell Sanjay was looking at him and she smiled. Luke turned around before turning back to his mum.

“What is it?” Luke asked.

“Sanjay.” Sarah Jane turned back to Luke, “I think he likes you.”

“Yeah, he does. He is my best friend at uni.” Luke laughed.

“No, not like that.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “I think he likes you more than that.”

Luke gave her a nervous look. He had come out to her as gay a few months ago and Sarah Jane couldn’t have been more happier and proud of him. He looked back to Sanjay and then back to her.

“You think he likes me… like a crush?” Luke asked. He was still very rusty on the romantic relationship side of life.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane giggled as she took a sip of her drink.

“Like how John likes you?” Luke asked.

Sarah Jane almost choked on her drink. She wiped her face slightly as she cleared her throat.

“Me and John are just friends.” Sarah Jane raised a brow before she nudged him, “Go talk to him.”

Luke smiled as he looked back to Sanjay for a moment before back to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane nodded to him and off he went. She watched as he joined Sanjay on the couch, soon laughing and joking with him. He seemed so happy with him and that was enough for Sarah Jane. She knew she could leave them be. Sarah Jane headed through to the kitchen as she went to get a tray of food. She unwrapped it from the tinfoil before going to another tray. As she did this, John popped his head into the kitchen.

“Hey.” She smiled, “You okay?”

“Yeah. Great party. You definitely are the hostess with the mostess.” John grinned as he nudged her arm gently.

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she laughed. John laughed with her as he took a mini sausage roll from the tray and ate it as she focused on the other tray.

“I was just speaking to Gita and Haresh.” John announced as he leaned back on the bunkers.

“Oh, gosh. What did you say?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Hey! Do you really not trust me?” John frowned before he then grinned, taking another sausage roll and putting it into his mouth, “I have been offered a job.”

“Really?” Sarah Jane raised her brow with a grin.

“Yeah. At the school. I have to go for an interview and then if I get it, you could be looking at Park Vale’s newest physics teacher.” John replied, “Of course, we’ll need to sort out all the documents and things which I totally forgot about.”

“I’ll get Mr. Smith on it.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Thanks.” John grinned as he took another sausage roll. This time getting caught by Sarah Jane.

“Hey!” She slapped his hand, “There’s hardly any left! You need to stop eating so much! You’re going to make yourself ill one day or fatten yourself up enough for a Slitheen to think you’re the perfect skin.”

“It’s alright.” John grinned as he rocked on his heels, “I’m very athletic.”

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes again as she headed through to the living room where the spread of food was. John chuckled as he followed after her, taking a tray from Sarah Jane so she was only carrying one.

Clyde and Rani stood at the door as they talked when they noticed Sarah Jane and John walk in. The young couple watched as they talked over the food. John grabbed another sausage roll as Sarah Jane slapped his hand, making Clyde and Rani laugh.

“What are you watching?” Sky asked as she pushed between the two.

“Sarah Jane and John.” Rani pointed, “Oh, they are so blind! How do they not realise that they do just fancy each other?”

“I know he’s not even been here a week but they already act like a married couple.” Clyde added.

“Do you think he’ll be my new dad?” Sky asked.

“Easy, tiger! They haven’t been on a date yet.” Rani chuckled before she realised. She grinned as she turned to them, “Oh my God! A date! We can set them up on a date.”

“A date? Do you remember what happened the last time Sarah Jane went on a date?” Clyde screwed his face.

“Oh, come on, Clyde! This isn’t the doing of the Trickster.” Rani rolled her eyes.

“What’s a date again?” Sky asked, “I know the other type of date but what’s this one?”

“Like going out with someone you like. In a romantic way.” Clyde explained.

“Hey.” Luke walked over to them, “Are you alright? What are you chatting about?”

“Your mum and dad.” Clyde teased.

Luke rolled his eyes before looking back to them.

“I did say to her that he fancied her.” Luke shrugged, “She just said they were just friends.”

Rani and Clyde raised their brows to one another. They knew it was a lie.

\- - -

John pulled into the driveway. He had just been to his interview for Park Vale with Haresh before picking up Sky as he took Sarah Jane’s car to the school. The two got out of the car, carrying boxes of food as they walked into the house.

“Remind me to get a car at some point.” John turned to Sky before shouting up the stairs, “Sarah? That’s us back.”

“Oh my goodness.” Sarah Jane said at the top of the stairs, “Not again.”

“What?” John asked as he stuffed his face with chips, “We got you some on the way here.”

“Everytime you pick up Sky from school, you get McDonalds!” Sarah Jane shook her head as she approached them.

“We got some for Luke, Clyde and Rani too.” John said with wide eyes, a little scared of what she was going to do.

Sarah Jane looked at them for a moment. John and Sky watched her, wondering if she was going to get angry with them. She sighed softly before turning back.

“Luke, Clyde, Rani! We’ve got food!”

They all sat in the living room as they ate and talked quietly. Sky told them about her day and how they had done experiments in her chemistry class. Sarah Jane giggled as she turned to John who was watching the television quietly. She frowned. He was usually very enthusiastic to hear Sky’s stories, even if he had heard them already.

“John?” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Hm?” John snapped out of his daydream, “Sorry. I was daydreaming there.”

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Never better. Always fine.”

“You’re worried, aren’t you? About the job interview? It’s done now, you just need to wait.”

“It’s the waiting I don’t like. What if I didn’t do well? I’d love to have this job.”

“I know and I’m sure you will get it. But if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll find something else.”

John smiled at her, taking her hand in his as he gave it a squeeze. He brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her hand gently. Sarah Jane just giggled nervously as she looked up to him. John then sat forward as he let go of her hand.

“Listen, tomorrow night, I’m assuming you’re all free right?” John asked.

“Yeah, should be.” Rani replied as the others nodded.

“Why don’t we go see a meteor shower?” John asked.

Well, that was enough for them.

\- - -

The next night, they left for the meteor shower. John had found out that the best place to watch was at a large park outside London. They decided to go camping and thankfully, it was only them so they could have a little campsite of their own. They parked up not too far away before setting up their tents. John started the fire and soon, they were toasting marshmallows and telling old stories. 

Sky sat next to Clyde, trying to copy his drawing as they both drew the same tree. Rani and Luke had not long gone on a walk around the surroundings. Sarah Jane and John sat at the fire as they watched the night sky. It was full of stars and looked magnificent.

“That’s Orion’s belt there.” John pointed, “Ooh, shooting star.”

“Can I ask you something?” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Of course.” John smiled.

“You’ll think this is stupid.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “Forget it.”

“What is it? I won’t think it’s stupid. I would never think that.” John replied.

Sarah Jane looked at him for a moment. She then looked back down to her hands before back up to the sky.

“The stars in the parallel universe… Are they the same? I mean do they have Orion’s belt and all the same constellations?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Not exactly. They definitely look similar but I think they have different names.” John replied, “Don’t ask me what they were. I’ve totally forgotten.”

The two chuckled quietly. 

“Do you miss it? The parallel universe I mean?” Sarah Jane asked him as she looked back to him. There was a pause as he looked up to the sky still. Her heart seemed to thunder in her chest. Why was she so worried by what he was going to say?

“Nah. I love it here. This is where I wanted to be.” John replied with a grin.

“What about Rose? Do you miss her?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Sometimes. I miss her bravery and her determination and her compassion.” John said. Sarah Jane turned away. She liked Rose but for some reason, this felt like a stab to the chest listening to him say all these things. She stared at the fire, feeling her eyes bubble slightly, “But we were better as friends. And we’re better off this way.” John turned to Sarah Jane as he took her hand, making her turn to him, “And there is no place I’d rather be than in this universe with all of you right now.”

Sarah Jane studied John’s face in the firelight. He wore a smile as he looked to her, his surprisingly warm hand squeezing her cold hand. She had no idea how he really felt about her, she just assumed that he just saw her as a friend but she was so thankful to have him and those words meant so much.

“There they are!” John snapped his head back up as he stood, “The meteors!”

Sarah Jane stood next to him as she watched the meteor shower above. Clyde and Sky watched from where they had sat not too far away from them. Luke and Rani had returned from their walk and stood next to the tents as they watched. John still held Sarah Jane’s hand as they watched. He talked quietly, pointing to different meteors as he grinned. Sarah Jane wasn’t listening much, she was too focused on the warm of his hand against hers. She turned to him as he turned to her when talking. When he made eye contact with her, his grin grew bigger. Sarah Jane’s own smile grew as his did too.

Not too far away, they heard a loud bang. They all turned in the direction of the bang as they looked around. There wasn’t any smoke or any flash of light so it couldn’t have been lightning.

“What the hell was that?” Clyde asked.

“It could have just been shots. There is a firing range around here.” John replied.

“Yeah, but it is eleven o’clock at night.” Rani crossed her arms, “No one’s going to be doing target practice at this time.”

“I suppose.” John shrugged, “I doubt it’s anything to worry about, eh, Sarah?”

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I’m sure it’s fine. Why don’t we start about thinking about getting to bed, hm?”

Another bang caught them off guard. They all looked at one another. They knew they had to have a look, especially with how close it sounded. 

“On second thoughts, maybe we should go have a look.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Right, we’ll go.” John said as he grabbed a large flashlight.

“We’re coming too.” Sky skipped up to them.

“Sky, maybe it’s best if you all stay here. We don’t know what’s out there. Besides, all our things are here. We can’t leave all of this.” Sarah Jane explained. She pushed the hair out of her adopted daughter’s face, “We’ll be right back, okay?”

“You promise, Sarah Jane?” Sky asked.

“I promise.” Sarah Jane smiled. She kissed her forehead before smiling to the others before heading off with John further into the park.

They walked together as John pointed his light to the path. They were quiet as they walked, trying to keep an eye for any movement in the trees.

“You alright?” John asked softly.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sarah Jane smiled before going back to looking around, “You don’t think those bangs were anything serious, do you?”

“Probably not. Maybe just fireworks or something.” John shrugged, “Always worth a look though.”

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded.

They continued walking when they heard a twig snap. They turned, not breathing as they tried to listen.

“Can you smell burning?” Sarah Jane sniffed.

John smelled the air. He spun around, trying to navigate where the smell was coming from. Suddenly, he noticed an orange glow not far from where they were standing. He took her hand as he pointed.

“Look.” John said.

“Do you think it’s a bonfire?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Dunno.” John squinted his eyes, “Come on.”

The two walked further into the trees as they followed the smell of burning. As they got closer, the orange glow became clear. It was a small shuttle pod that had crashed during the meteor shower. It was on fire but not badly. When it became clear, Sarah Jane and John ran up to it.

“The door’s shut. We need to make sure no one’s in there.” John said as he took out the sonic screwdriver he had finally built the other day.

“Is this a Sontaran ship?” Sarah Jane asked, “It looks an awful lot like one.”

“No. Just very similar.” John replied, “Help me with this door.”

The two pulled the door open before stepping back. Inside the ship was only one person. An alien who was clearly female. She was a humanoid with blue scaley skin and pointy ears. On her head, she seemed to have one large tentacle that looked like her hair. She wore a black leather jumpsuit and heavy boots and was unconscious. John undid her belt before picking up the alien from the ship and laying her down on the grass a little further away from the ship. John and Sarah Jane crouched down next to her. 

“She’s alive.” John checked her pulse.

“What is she?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I don’t know.” John shook his head, “I don’t think I’ve seen this species before.”

The two checked her over, checking she wasn’t hurt. They couldn’t see anything and John decided to try and wake her up.

“Hello?” John said, “Hello? Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

“Is she breathing?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah.” John nodded.

Suddenly, the alien’s eyes started to flutter as she coughed. She rolled on her side a little before opening her eyes. She looked up to John and Sarah Jane as they smiled.

“Hello.” John grinned, “Are you alright? Don’t be scared, we’re just here to help. Do you know what happened? Are you hurt?”

The alien said nothing as she looked around herself. Sarah Jane and John looked at each other, wondering if she couldn’t understand them.

“I’m Sarah Jane and this is John. It’s okay, you’re safe. You’re on Earth.” Sarah Jane said. She went to rest her hand on the alien’s shoulder to comfort her, “It’s alright-.”

The alien hissed at Sarah Jane instantly when she touched her. She threw her hand off her shoulder as she stood up. Sarah Jane and John stood up quickly as John stepped in front of Sarah Jane as he held his hands up.

“It’s okay. We don’t mean you any harm. You must be in shock. You can trust us.” John tried.

The alien said nothing as she started to laugh. Sarah Jane and John frowned as they watched, John making sure Sarah Jane was still behind him as his hand rested on her thigh for a moment.

“Why would I trust you humans?” The alien asked as she tilted her head.

“We can help you.” John tried, “We’ve met other aliens before.”

“You can’t help me,” The alien said as she moved her hand around her back before pulling out an alien pistol. She pointed it to them, a smirk on her face, “And no one can help you.”

“Run!” John exclaimed as he grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand and they bolted.

The alien shot at them, Sarah Jane yelped as a laser almost hit her. They ran through the trees in the park, panting as they tried their best to get away. When they reached the camp, the kids all shot up as they walked over to them.

“What happened?” Luke asked.

“That bang, an alien crashed.” John explained as he and Sarah Jane walked up to them, still holding each other’s hand, “Let’s just say she’s not totally friendly.”

“Are you alright?” Rani asked.

“Yes, we’re fine.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Maybe we should go. Get UNIT on the phone.”

“What?! No way, you never want to get UNIT involved.” Clyde replied.

“This is an alien we have never met before. We have no idea what we’re dealing with. Especially in a park like this, anyone could be here right now.” Sarah Jane explained.

“That hasn’t put you off before.” Rani frowned.

“Sarah Jane’s right.” John nodded, “We have no clue what we’re dealing with. We better get ready to go.”

The kids sighed, starting to pack up their things. Sarah Jane and John watched them. They both felt horrible that they had to do this but they had no other choice. They didn’t even know what type of alien she was. How were they going to deal with her?

“Are you alright?” John looked at her.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Sarah Jane nodded. She looked up to him, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” John nodded, “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “Do you think we’re making the right choice?”

“I’m not sure. We don’t really have any other choice.” John replied.

“I suppose.” Sarah Jane nodded as she looked to the ground. The two noticed they were still holding hands and they immediately felt awkward. She let go of his hand, stepping back as she tucked her hair behind her ear, “I better pack then.”

John watched Sarah Jane as she walked off. He looked around his surroundings as he sighed. He then headed towards his bags when he heard rustling in the bushes. John lifted his head, wondering what the noise was. There was another rustle.

“Shh.” He hushed the others. They stayed silent. Again, another rustle.

Clyde grabbed a large stick, Rani staying near him. Luke put his bag down slowly whilst Sky looked around. Sarah Jane stood behind one of the tents, watching John as he looked around. Finally, the alien appeared. She burst out of the bushes, her gun in her hand.

“There you are! You ran away so soon. And with the family, how sweet.” The alien grinned. She held her up her gun again, ready to fire.

“Stop! Stop! We mean you no harm, why should you harm us?” John held up his hands.

“Why shouldn’t I harm you pathetic humans? It would be so much fun!” The alien laughed.

“Who are you?” John asked.

“I’m Zyre. I am Vokax. You clearly haven’t heard of me then?” Zyre asked.

“No. Are you famous?” John raised a brow.

“You can’t be serious.” Clyde said under his breath before shushed by Luke.

“You could say that.” Zyre shrugged, “A famous murderer all over the cosmos. On the Judoon’s most wanted.”

“Well, when we’re done, I’ll be sure to ask for an autograph.” John replied. He noticed Sarah Jane edging closer to Zyre. He knew she was going to try and get the gun out of her hand and as they made eye contact, he gave her a nod only she would notice. For now, he kept Zyre talking, “How did you crash?”

“The stupid meteor shower. I crashed into a meteor and I came here.” Zyre explained.

As Sarah Jane moved closer, Zyre snapped around to Sarah Jane. She held out her hand as she sent an electric wave to Sarah Jane’s body. Sarah Jane fell to the ground as she yelled in pain.

“Sarah!” John exclaimed.

“Mum!” Both Luke and Sky said.

“Stay where you are!” Zyre snapped back to them, gun pointing at them, “I warned you, earthlings. You are all powerless.”

“You’re wrong.” John gritted his teeth as he took out his sonic and grabbed Sarah Jane’s that was in her bag. He held them together and said before activating them, “You are the one that is powerless.”

Zyre screamed in pain when John activated the two sonics as they created a sharp noise. She started to run through the park. Rani nudged John, making him stop the loud noise. Luke and Sky rushed over to their mum. Sarah Jane lay on the ground as she wheezed in pain. John, Clyde and Rani rushed to her too. John joined them on the ground as he pulled her jacket back to reveal the veins on her neck and chest bulging slightly and now a red colour.

“Oh no.” John said to himself. He scanned her with his sonic screwdriver.

“John, what is it? What’s wrong with her?” Luke asked. They watched as John said nothing, reading his sonic screwdriver, “John! Tell me what’s wrong with my mum.”

“I’ll get her into the tent.” John picked her up off the ground, “I’m going to go find Zyre. You lot stay here, look after Sarah Jane.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Sky asked as they followed John as he carried Sarah Jane and lay her down in her tent.

“I’m going to find out. That’s why I need to find Zyre and you have to stay here.” John replied.

“But what if something happens to you?” Rani asked, “Someone needs to go with you.”

“I’ll be fine.” John said, “You just stay with Sarah Jane. Please.”

Sky, Clyde and Rani nodded. John was about to walk away when Luke followed after him.

“I told you to stay.” John said.

“And I asked you what was wrong with my mum and you ignored me now tell me.” Luke replied as they walked.

“You’re exactly like her.” John nodded before he stopped, “She’s been poisoned. Whatever powers Zyre has, she’s poisoned Sarah Jane.”

“It’s going to kill her, isn’t it?” Luke asked quietly. 

“Yes.” John cleared his throat, “But I’m going to find a way to reverse it.”

“How long has she got?” Luke asked.

“An hour.” John replied.

“Then I’m coming with you.” Luke raised his chin, “She’s my mum.”

John nodded. The two then set off further into the park.

\- - -

“What do we do?” Sky asked, her eyes filling with tears, “What do we do?”

“Sky, it’s gonna be okay.” Rani reassured, “John and Luke have gone to find something to help her. They won’t let anything bad happen to her.”

Sky started to cry. She buried her head into her hands and Rani brought her into her arms. As she held her, Rani looked to Clyde who was in the tent with Sarah Jane. He pressed his hand on her forehead before looking back to Rani.

“She’s burning up.” Clyde said with a concerned look.

“Here.” Rani looked around before grabbing an ice pack from the little packed lunch she had made, “Use that. It’s cold. You could hold it to her forehead.”

Clyde took the ice pack and held it to Sarah Jane’s forehead. Sarah Jane’s eyes slowly closed, her breathing quick and her skin shining with a sheen of sweat.

“She’s falling asleep.” Clyde said, “Sarah Jane, you need to stay awake.”

Sky grabbed her water bottle as she went into the tent. She sat next to her mother as she started to unscrew her water bottle lid. Rani stood at the opening of the tent, watching as Sky helped Sarah Jane drink the water.

\- - -

John and Luke reached Zyre’s ship. John looked around, his heart pumping fast in his chest. He was now seething. There was no way he was letting Sarah Jane die. He looked around the area as Luke looked up to the ship.

“Zyre.” John shouted. Luke could hear the venom in John’s voice and he never heard that before. Not from him or the Doctor, not even with the Trickster, “Zyre!”

“You really do have a death wish, don’t you?” Zyre came out from the shadows, “You even brought Junior.”

“I need you to stop what you did to Sarah Jane.” John walked up to her, “She’s dying.”

“Yes. That was the whole point.” Zyre rolled her eyes.

“Reverse what you did right now or so help me, I will cause nothing but destruction.” John stepped forward as he spat.

“And what are you going to do?” Zyre asked.

“Sarah is not here to stop me. I could easily kill you right now.” John replied.

Zyre laughed.

“Try me, earthling.”

There was a sudden flash of light and they turned to see a few Judoon soldiers before them. They spoke in their own language before talking in English.

“Zyre the Annihilator, you are under arrest.” The Judoon captain stepped forward.

“No!” Zyre exclaimed as she was cuffed, “No! Let me go!”

“You will be sent to the Shadow Proclamation where you will serve your sentence.” The Judoon ignored her pleas.

“Wait! Wait!” John stopped them. He seemed to feel the relief of his grudge fall from his chest. It was like he could breathe again, “Zyre, please tell me. What can I do to save her?”

Zyre said nothing as she started to laugh. The Judoon officer that held her pushed her as she grunted. She knew she had to tell them and there was no way of getting out of it.

“That green vial there.” She pointed to her ship, “Make her drink that.”

“Is she telling the truth?” Luke asked the Judoon captain.

“Yes. The antidote will stop the poison.” He replied.

Luke quickly grabbed it before he and John stepped back. They watched as the Judoom, Zyre and Zyre’s ship soon disappeared. John and Luke looked at one another as they laughed, hugging one another.

“Let’s go save your mum.”

\- - -

Sarah Jane had fallen asleep as Sky, Clyde and Rani stayed around her. They could see she was deteriorating as her skin become paler and her breathing quicker. They had almost given up hope and just needed John and Luke to come back before it was too late.

“Rani!” Rani heard Luke shout. She looked from around the tent and grinned when she saw Luke and John running towards her, John scanning the small vial in his hands with his sonic screwdriver.

“They’re back!” Rani said.

Clyde got out the tent as he let John go in with the vial. Luke, Clyde and Rani watched from the opening of the tent as Sky sat on the other side of Sarah Jane. John propped Sarah Jane onto his lap, trying his best to ignore her state. He helped her drink the antidote, keeping a hold of her chin as he helped her.

“Come on, Sarah.” He said softly, “Wake up. Wake up.”

None of them felt like they could breath in that moment. They all hoped to God that Sarah Jane would wake up. Slowly, her eyes started to flutter. John looked up, a grin growing on his lips. Luke took in a big sigh of relief as Clyde patted his shoulder and Rani squeezed his arm. Sky grinned as she looked up to John before back to her mother. As Sarah Jane opened her eyes, she coughed before looking at John.

“What happened?” She asked with a raspy voice.

“Oh, Sarah Jane, you’re alright.” John brought her into his arms as he hugged her.

“How are you feeling?” Clyde asked.

“Like I’ve been hit by a bus.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Why don’t you get some rest?” John suggested, “We’ll get things sorted in the morning.”

\- - -

The next morning, they all drove home. Sarah Jane wanted to drive home but John insisted he drive and she rest instead. They pulled up to Bannerman Road and parked in the drive. Clyde and Rani went across the road to Rani’s mum and dad’s just after they said goodbye everyone. As they unpacked the car, Luke noticed Sanjay walking up the drive. 

“Sanjay.” Luke lit up, “Hi. What… what are you doing here?”

“I just came to see you. I was in London seeing my mum and dad and thought I would pay you a visit. Are you going away?” Sanjay replied as he pointed to the bags.

“Oh no. We just came home actually.” Luke explained.

“We went camping.” John added.

“Fun! You know what, I’ll let you get in and have some rest. I remember I went camping with my brothers and I was shattered the next day so I can imagine you all are too.” Sanjay said as he was about to walk off the driveway.

Luke looked to Sarah Jane who gestured for him to go after him. He smiled before turning back to Sanjay.

“No, Sanjay. Wait.” Luke walked up to him, “It’s alright. I’ll just put my bags inside and then we could go into town. We could take the car too.”

“You sure? You’re not too tired?” Sanjay raised his brow.

“Nah, I’m okay.” Luke nodded as John grabbed his bags, “Just let me say bye to my mum.”

“Of course.” Sanjay smiled. 

Luke walked over to Sarah Jane as he gave her a hug. Sarah Jane smiled. She was still tired and the warmth of her son’s arms were very comforting.

“Love you, mum.” Luke smiled at her.

“Love you too.” Sarah Jane replied. She winked to him, wishing him luck with a single look.

“See you later, boys. Have fun!” John called as Sarah Jane and Sky went into the house.

“We will.” Luke replied.

They watched as the three went into the house. Luke looked back to Sanjay who smiled.

“I’m not gonna lie but I’m confused. Is he your dad or just your stepdad?” Sanjay pointed.

“It’s a long story.” Luke shrugged.

“I’ve got plenty time.”

\- - -

Sky went into her room as John went into his. He unpacked his bags before heading into Sarah Jane’s room but noticed she wasn’t there. He headed up to the attic, knowing exactly where she would be. He opened the door to see her standing in front of Mr. Smith as she scanned the area for aliens.

“You should be resting.” John said as he walked in.

“I’m just checking we have no threats on the way.” Sarah Jane shrugged, “Got to be vigilant.”

“Well, we can have a day off. Let UNIT take care of things for once.” John replied.

Sarah Jane chuckled as she walked up the steps. She sat down on the couch as she took off her coat and draped it over the side. John followed her up the steps as he stood in front of her.

“Cup of tea?” He gestured to the door.

“I’m okay.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Thank you though.”

John nodded with a small smile. He thought it would be best to leave Sarah Jane and decided to walk to the door.

“John?”

John turned to her.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Of course.”

John walked around the coffee table as he joined her on the couch. He smiled at her as he relaxed on the couch.

“You alright?”

“I just wanted to thank you for last night. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have you there.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Oh, I’m sure the kids would have found something.” John chuckled, “You don’t need to thank me.”

“But I do.” Sarah Jane sat forward, “You did everything you could to save me. I’m so grateful for that.”

“You would have done the same for me.” John shrugged with a chuckle. He then mellowed as he looked up to her, taking her hand in his, “You know, Sarah, I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t wake up. I really did think I was going to lose you and I don’t think I could. You’re my best friend. You’re too important to me.”

Sarah Jane studied John’s face for a moment. She was so thankful to be alive and she was so thankful for John for saving her. As time went on, she could feel the feelings she had for the Doctor being transferred to John. It was like having the Doctor living with them but at the same time, it wasn’t. John was his own person and Sarah Jane had grown to love him in such a short time. As they looked into one another’s eyes, they slowly inched towards one another. Their eyes closed as they moved closer and closer but before their lips could finally touch, Sky burst into the room. Sarah Jane and John snapped back, hoping Sky hadn’t noticed them.

“It’s for you.” Sky walked over to John as she held the handheld landline phone. She then whispered, “It’s Mr. Chandra.”

“Oh, thank you, Sky. You don’t mind if I…” John shot up as he took the phone before pointing the door.

“It’s fine.” Sarah Jane smiled, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

John smiled before leaving the attic as he answered the phone, shutting the door behind himself. Sky turned to Sarah Jane as she sat in John’s place.

“Are you feeling better?” Sky asked softly.

“A little.” Sarah Jane replied, “I’ll maybe have a sleep in a minute.”

Sky just nodded with a little smile. She then cuddled into Sarah Jane’s arms. Sarah Jane couldn’t help but be a little surprised when Sky cuddled into her but she smiled and kissed her head softly.

“When she attacked you,” Sky began as she looked up to Sarah Jane. She wore a slightly worried look on her face, “I called you ‘mum’.”

“You did?” Sarah Jane raised her brow.

“Was that a bad thing?” Sky asked, now more worried, “I shouldn’t have done that. It’s only Luke that calls you ‘mum’.”

“No, no. It’s not a bad thing at all. I’m just surprised. You usually call me by my name.”

“Should I call you ‘mum’?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I wouldn’t have any objections.”

Sky said nothing as she cuddled into Sarah Jane again. Sarah Jane thought about what Sky said. She took this as her not wanting to call her ‘mum’ but that was okay. She didn’t mind. She respected Sky’s wishes.

“I love you, mum.” Sky said quietly.

Sarah Jane’s stomach filled with butterflies. She felt her smile grow bigger. She giggled softly, kissing Sky’s head again.

“I love you too.” Sarah Jane replied as she held her tightly.

They cuddled for a moment or so before the door opened and John walked in with a big grin.

“I got the job!” He announced.

“You did?” Sky sat up with a smile.

“I did! I’m starting on Monday. Dr. Smith, physics teacher.” John replied as he raised a brow, “It has a good ring to it, eh?”

“Yay!” Sky exclaimed as she went to hug John, “Physics will be so much more fun now! I’ll go text Luke!”

Sky then left the attic as John turned to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane chuckled as she stood up and walked up to him.

“What do you think?” John asked. He felt anxious as he waited for what she had to say. He was scared she wouldn’t be happy for him but he had no clue why she wouldn’t.

“I think it’s brilliant.” Sarah Jane grinned, “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” John nodded, “I am feeling quite smug if I do say so myself. King of the world.”

“Don’t let it get to your head too much. Haresh runs a tight ship at Park Vale.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Of course. I’ll be on my best behaviour.” John saluted.

Sarah Jane simply giggled as she ducked her head. She then looked back up at him as she put a hand on his shoulder, going onto her tiptoes as she kissed his cheek. John looked down to her, wide-eyed and a smile growing slowly on his face.

“I’m gonna go for a sleep.”

John simply nodded and watched as Sarah Jane walked out. He was now left in the attic, grinning like a fool. Things looked like they were on the road up.


	5. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids decide to set Sarah Jane and John up on a date.

Sarah Jane sat at her desk as she typed. She looked at the time, knowing John and Sky would be home very soon. It had been three weeks since they went camping and Sarah Jane was feeling a lot better. She finished up her work before shutting down her computer. Luke, Clyde and Rani were also due back from university too so Sarah Jane was expecting a full house tonight. She left the attic and came downstairs. She went into the kitchen as she started making some tea. She then heard the door open and footsteps enter the house.

“Mum?” Sky called.

“Hello.” Sarah Jane appeared at the door of the kitchen, “How was your day?”

“We learned about the World Wars today and started reading ‘The Catcher in the Rye’.” Sky grinned.

“Good day then?” Sarah Jane asked. Sky nodded which made Sarah Jane chuckle. She let Sky into the kitchen as she looked up to John, “And you? How was your day?”

“Brilliant. Although there was a fight outside my class today.” John put his keys in the bowl next to Sarah Jane’s. John had recently got his own car. He wasn’t as flash as some of the Doctor’s previous regenerations and when it came to deciding on a car, John went for a red Ford Cortina MK3. Sarah Jane thought that it suited him very well, “Some boys just having a scuffle, I was too busy reading Sky’s copy of ‘The Catcher in the Rye’.”

Sarah Jane chuckled as the two went into the kitchen. They joined Sky at the round dining table as they sipped on their tea. They talked quietly before the front door opened. Luke came through as he put his bags down on the floor.

“Hi.” Luke grinned.

“Hello.” Sarah Jane smiled before frowning, “Where’s Clyde and Rani?”

“Across the road.” Luke replied.

“Ah.” 

Clyde and Rani soon came over and they all headed to the attic. Whilst Sarah Jane and John were standing over the workbench as they talked about the alien device Sarah Jane held. Rani sat on the couch with Luke as they watched them. Clyde sat near them as he drew and Sky sat at the computer.

“I think they’ve got a lot closer since we went camping.” Rani said softly.

“Well, he did save her life, Rani.” Clyde replied. Rani said nothing as she hit his arm playfully as he laughed.

“You know what I mean.” Rani rolled her eyes, “Remember when I said we should set them up on a date. We should do it.”

“You think?” Luke asked, “Shall we book a place for them to go?”

“Yeah, where are they going to go?” Clyde asked.

“Shh.” Rani hushed them before she sat up, “Sarah Jane? John? What are you up to tomorrow?”

“Um,” Sarah Jane and John looked to one another. Sarah Jane looked back at Rani, “Nothing I don’t think. How come?”

“Well, we were thinking of having a pizza night. Maybe you two could go out for dinner. Have a night just for you.” Rani suggested.

“Yeah.” Luke nodded, “A night without us kids and aliens.”

“What are you lot planning?” Sarah Jane stepped forward as she crossed her arms.

“Nothing, Sarah Jane. Honest!” Rani chuckled.

“Yeah, we think you should just have a night out.” Clyde shrugged, “It’s been a crazy few weeks, you deserve to have time to yourselves.”

Sarah Jane frowned at them. She had no clue what they were planning and why they would want her and John out of the house. She also felt quite nervous at the idea of going out with John like that. Sarah Jane had started to develop feelings for John and she could tell he didn’t reciprocate that. Especially after a few weeks ago where they almost kissed. They never talked about it but it seemed to be lingering between the two. Everytime she looked at him, she was reminded of that and how close they got to something happening.

“I think that would be good.” John stepped forward as Sarah Jane turned to him. She looked at him with a surprised look and John widened his eyes, wondering if she didn’t want to go, “Unless you don’t want to.”

“Uh no.” Sarah Jane itched the back of her head, “No, I’d like that. I would.”

John grinned at Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane smiled up to him, pushing her hair behind her ear. They caught themselves looking at each other as John cleared his throat, straightening up as he went into his pockets and pulled out his mobile.

“I’ll go book a table now.”

Sarah Jane watched him walk out of the attic as she wore a smile on her face. She then turned back to the workbench, feeling the heat crawling up her neck and face. The kids watched as she turned around and they all smiled at one another. They could not wait to see their plan come into play.

\- - -

The next night, John and Sarah Jane were getting ready for their night out. John stood at the door as he shuffled in his shoes. He checked his hair in the mirror as his stomach turned to knots. He then checked the time, breathing deeply. John was very nervous about tonight and had no idea of what to expect. He brushed his sleeve when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. John turned and his jaw slightly dropped when he saw Sarah Jane. 

Sarah Jane was walking down the stairs in a navy blue, satin dress. It went down to just above her knees and was short sleeved and had a v-neck. On her feet, she wore a pair of silver barely there heels. She held her bag in one hand and draped over her other arm was a navy blue long coat. Sarah Jane fiddled with her simple dangle silver earrings before she pushed her straightened hair off her shoulder. When she looked up, Sarah Jane grinned.

John wore a blue suit, white shirt and red tie. On his feet, he wore his red converses. He looked exactly like how the Doctor did when he came to her wedding but it didn’t bother Sarah Jane. He looked really handsome and she could feel her heart beating fast. Him looking like that seemed to ease how she felt about the night out. When Sarah Jane reached the bottom of the steps, John stepped forward. 

“You ready?” Sarah Jane smiled as she stopped on the last step.

“Yes. Yes.” John nodded. He put his hands in his pockets as he looked up at Sarah Jane, “You look beautiful.”  
Sarah Jane grinned at him as she came down the steps, taking his hand.

“Come on. We’ll be late.”

They got into John’s car and headed into town. The restaurant they were going to was in a hotel but was very popular. They were taken to their table and settled in as they read from the menu. As they read from their menus, they were totally oblivious to Luke, Clyde, Rani and Sky all coming into the restaurant. They sat at a table away from Sarah Jane and John, making sure they weren’t able to see them but they could see them.

“Look.” Rani said as they sat down, “That’s them there.” 

“I don’t know about this, Rani. What if they start snogging?” Clyde screwed up his face. 

Rani just nudged his arm as Sky laughed at the two.

“What’s ‘snogging’?” Sky asked.

“It’s another word for kissing.” Rani replied before she turned to Clyde, “Which they won’t be doing because it is their first date.”

“I don’t know. I think otherwise.” Clyde said in a teasing tone.

“I thought we were having a pizza night?” Luke frowned.

“Yeah, here, we are. And then we’re going to spy on your mum and dad.” Clyde replied.

“He’s not my dad.” Luke said.

“He will be.” Clyde pointed as he picked up his menu.

“Do we call him ‘dad’? I’ve only just started calling mum ‘mum’.” Sky looked at Luke.

“We don’t need to worry about that right now, Sky.” Luke said.

“Can we decide on something? I’m starving.” Rani said.

Sarah Jane and John ordered their food and they were now eating their starter.

“I forgot to ask,” John said as he ate, “Are you feeling better now? Still not sick?”  
“No.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “I haven’t been sick since last week. When you made me drink that smoothie.”

“It was meant to help you when you’re sick.” John replied.

“Yeah, it helped me be sick, that’s for sure!”

The two laughed.

“I really didn’t expect that to happen.” John said, “I thought it would be a nice getaway for us all.”

“There was nothing you could have done to stop her when she did it. I’m just glad you were there. Who knows what could have happened.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

“I suppose.” John nodded, “I do wish that we could have enjoyed our camping trip though.”

“We did. I just nearly died.” Sarah Jane shrugged as she took a sip of her wine.

“Not every trip’s perfect.” John laughed.

Sarah Jane laughed into her drink.

“Aww, they look like they’re having a good time.” Rani watched the two.

“I wonder what the Doctor would say.” Luke said.

“He’d probably wonder why he wasn’t back in the parallel universe.” Clyde replied.

As the others talked, Sky watched over the restaurant. She was fascinated by humans and Sky watched them intently. There was someone that caught her eye as she watched. A young waitress walked past the table. She looked incredibly nervous, looking around frantically. Sky just assumed that it was maybe just her first day but as she continued to watch her, she seemed to glitch. It was similar to Joseph Serf and when she spotted him glitch. She turned to Luke as she shook his arm. 

“Did you see that?” Sky asked.

“See what?” Luke asked.

“That waitress that just walked past.” Sky looked up to him, “She glitched like Joseph Serf.”  
“What waitress?” Luke looked around, “I can’t see any waitresses near us.”   
“But she just walked past.” Sky turned back but she was gone. She looked around, trying to figure out where she had gone. Sky frowned, “She was right there.”

“I’m gonna go pop to the loo.” Sarah Jane got up from the table.

“Okay.” John smiled.

Sarah Jane got up from the table and headed to the toilets. As she got up, John watched her as she walked away. He smiled to himself as he watched her and admired her beauty (and her bottom). When Sarah Jane walked past them, Luke, Clyde, Rani and Sky hid behind their menus so she didn’t see them. When they knew she was gone, they put their menus down, they went back to eating. As he ate, Clyde made eye contact with John. John frowned when he saw him and got him.

“We’ve been spotted.” Clyde announced,

They all turned to see John now approaching them.

“Oh no.” Luke said.

“What are you all doing here?” John asked, “I thought you were having a pizza night?”

“We are.” Sky and Clyde said in unison as they pointed to the two pizzas in front of them.

“We thought we might just get out of the house for it.” Ran shrugged.

“You’re spying on us, aren’t you?” The penny dropped for John.

“No. Not at all.” Rani laughed.

“Yeah, we didn’t even know you were coming here.” Clyde said with a nervous giggle.

“You asked mum where they were going tonight.” Sky frowned.

“Grass!” Clyde exclaimed.

“Please don’t tell mum.” Luke said.

“Yeah, she’ll totally freak!” Rani added.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell her. You just make sure she doesn’t see you though. You know what she’s like.” John chuckled.

“Yeah we will.” Luke smiled.

John nodded to them with a grin before heading back to his table. Soon, Sarah Jane came back and they continued their meal. John talked as something or more, someone caught Sarah Jane’s eye. A man ran through the restaurant, turning back every once and a while until he reached the kitchens where he went inside. John noticed Sarah Jane was paying attention to something else and looked behind him.

“You okay?” John asked.

“There was a guy that just ran past. He went into the kitchen but he looked like he was scared of something.” Sarah Jane explained before she looked back at John, “It’s probably nothing. Sorry, what were you saying?”

They soon finished their food and were getting ready to leave. In the restaurant, guests had to pay their bill at the door. As Sarah Jane waited for John (who had insisted on paying for the dinner before they got out of the car), she put on her coat. As she smoothed down her lapels, she noticed a little girl running around near the doors. At first, Sarah Jane just assumed it was the child of the couple next to them who was paying but when they left, she didn’t follow. Instead, Sarah Jane got a better look at the girl’s face and she could tell she was on her own. She looked terrified and Sarah Jane looked around, wondering where her parents could be.

The girl looked around the lobby they stood in as she made eye contact with Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane smiled at the girl, hoping it would be enough for her to trust her so she would come over to her. Instead, the girl’s eyes seemed to fill with tears and she ran off. Sarah Jane watched as she ran off.

“Right, that’s us.” John announced as he got his keys out of his pockets, “Shall we get a move on?”

“Did you see that little girl? The one in the pink coat.” Sarah Jane pointed.

“No.” John shook his head as he looked around.

“Come on.” Sarah Jane took his hand and went after the little girl.

“Sarah? Where are we going?” John frowned.

Sarah Jane didn’t respond. The two went into the stairwell as they went up the first flight which took them to the long corridors of rooms. John was very confused as he looked at the hotel room doors, letting Sarah Jane drag him down the long corridor.

“Sarah, where are we going?” John asked whilst he looked around. His heart thundered in his chest as he thought about all the possibilities, “Did you book us a room? I thought we were going home. I mean, I don’t mind if you did, it is a bit…”

“Shh.” Sarah Jane hushed him. They stopped in the middle of the hall as Sarah Jane tried to listen, “There’s something wrong. That little girl looked terrified. I think she’s lost.”

John nodded. The two then continued down the hall. As they walked, the little girl ran out in front of them. She made eye contact with them and looked terrified.

“Hey, it’s alright.” Sarah Jane approached her, “You don’t need to be scared. Are you alri-?”

The girl ran away before Sarah Jane could continue. Sarah Jane and John ran after her, trying to keep up with the young girl.

“Wait.” Sarah Jane shouted, “It’s alright!”

They continued to run down the hall as they then turned the corner and went upstairs to the next floor. As they ran down that corridor, the little girl ran past them in the other direction.

“Other way!” John exclaimed as he took Sarah Jane’s hand and followed after the girl.

As they ran, this floor was longer than the one below and they reached a corridor which they turned. When they got around that corridor, they found the girl now sitting against the wall as she cried, her legs up to her chest. Sarah Jane and John stopped as they looked at her. Sarah Jane felt horrible for the girl, she seemed so scared. There had to be more than just being lost.

“Hey.” Sarah Jane said softly as she stepped forward, “It’s okay. Are you alright? Have you lost your parents?”

“Please leave me alone.” The little girl stood, “You won’t like me.”

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane asked, “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“I do. I do. You won’t like me.” The girl shook her head. 

“How won’t we like you? We’ve just met. You might not like us.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Are you lost? You can trust us, I promise.”

“You need to go. Once you see me, you won’t like me. You’ll run away.” The girl replied.

“But we can see you now.” Sarah Jane said. She stepped forward slowly as the girl stepped back. Sarah Jane looked back to John who looked worried. She then looked back to the girl, “I’m Sarah Jane and this is John. We promise that we won’t hurt you. It’s alright. Has something happened? Did someone hurt you?”

“You won’t understand.” The girl said.

“We can try.” Sarah Jane replied.

The girl sighed. Slowly, her body changed into an alien who was the same height and age which would have been around five or six. She looked very similar to Eve but her skin was purple instead of red. She wore flowy dark clothes and her purple eyes seemed to bubble with tears.

“You don’t like me, do you?” The girl said softly.

“No, no. I do. We both do.” Sarah Jane smiled, “You’re very beautiful.”

“I am?” She asked.

“Of course you are.” Sarah Jane crouched down, “You know, me and John have met many aliens in our time. I would say you are the most beautiful. Isn’t that right, John?”

“Absolutely.” John nodded as he joined Sarah Jane in her crouched position, “What’s your name?”

“Aera.” Aera said softly.

“Aera? What a lovely name.” John grinned before he became a little serious, “Now, Aera. You have to listen to us. We need to know what’s going on so we can get you to safety. Would you be alright to tell us what’s going on?”

Aera just nodded.

“Where are your parents? Are they looking for you?” John asked.

“I don’t have any parents. I’m on my own.” Aera said softly. Sarah Jane’s heart broke for the little girl. She knew how hard that was for a child to lose their parents so young.

“How did you come to Earth then?” John asked.

“I was going to another planet on an orphanage ship.” Aera explained as she bit her nails, “It crashed here. I don’t know if anyone’s left.”

Sarah Jane and John looked at one another. They both felt horrible for Aera. They couldn’t imagine how scared she was right now. They suddenly heard footsteps coming towards them nearby and they knew they had to get out of the hall otherwise someone would make a big reaction about Aera. Luckily on the doors of the rooms, it showed if they were occupied or not. They found an empty one which John unlocked with his sonic screwdriver and they went in.

“Do you know if anyone could be looking for you?” Sarah Jane asked, “I think I saw someone who could have been looking for you and posed as a human?”

“The old man? The waitress girl?” Aera asked as she sat on the bed.

“I only saw the old man but yeah. Either one of them?” Sarah Jane said, handing Aera a glass of water.

“That was me. I had to find different ways to not be seen.” Aera replied, “I was running out of energy though. I can only stay like that for a short time.”

“I see.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“Do you know which planet you were being taken to?” John asked.

“It had a funny name.” Aera raked her brain before she looked up at John, “Vubichi.”

“Oh, I know Vubichi.” John grinned as he crouched down to Aera’s level, “One of the most beautiful planets I have ever been to. You will love it, Aera.”

“You’ve been?” Aera’s face lit up a little.

“Of course I have! Little secret, I once had a spaceship. I travelled a lot.” John replied.

Aera giggled softly as she listened to John talk.

“Sarah, do you think Mr. Smith could help us get Aera back home?” John asked.

“I think so. We would need to take her home though.” Sarah Jane replied before she turned to Aera, “Would that be okay? If we took you to our home?”

“What will happen?” Aera asked.

“Nothing bad. I have this very smart computer and I think he will be able to get in touch with your people and be able to send you home.” Sarah Jane replied, “Would you like that?”

“Yes.” Aera grinned, “Yes, please.”

“We better go then.” John stood.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Wait, how are we going to get her out of here?”

“I can change my form.” Aera suggested.

“I can’t ask you to do that, Aera.” Sarah Jane turned to her.

“It’s okay. I feel better now. I think I can do it.” Aera smiled.

Sarah Jane nodded. Aera changed into the human form she took before and they left the room. As they walked down the hall, they heard familiar voices approaching.

“She went this way!”

“Sky, stop! We don’t know who she is!”

As they turned the corner, Luke, Clyde, Rani and Sky were met with Sarah Jane, John and the little girl they were chasing after. They knew they were in trouble.

“What are you all doing here?” Sarah Jane’s eyes widened.

“Pizza.” Luke laughed.

Sarah Jane huffed as she walked forward, Aera’s hand in hers. The kids all watched as she walked with Aera before looking back to John. John’s eyes widened, knowing that it didn’t look good for them.

As they all headed downstairs, John and Sarah Jane explained the situation before getting in their cars and heading back to Bannerman Road. Once they reached the house, they all headed to the attic.

“Mr. Smith, I need you.” Sarah Jane walked in with Aera who was now in her true form.

Aera watched with wide eyes as Mr. Smith unfolded from the wall. The attic was like nothing she had ever seen before and she loved it. Aera looked around whilst Sarah Jane explained what was happening to Mr. Smith.

“I would need a teleporting device to send Aera to Vubichi.” Mr. Smith announced.

They thought for a moment, wondering what they could use or make when John had an idea.

“I’ll be right back!”

They waited for a moment before John returned. In his hand, he held a device that Sarah Jane recognised. A dimension jump.

“Mr. Smith, could we use this?” John asked.

“Hold on, that’s a dimension jump. Mickey told me that you rip a hole in the universe every time you use it.” Sarah Jane frowned.

“It can but I think I know a way to fix it. I think I can turn it into just a teleport.” John said, “Mr. Smith, do you think it will work?”

“With the right coordinates, yes it will.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Brilliant!” John grinned before he looked to Sarah Jane. He could tell she was worried this wasn’t going to work and he could not blame her. John was worried too but he was also confident that it would work, “I’ll be two minutes.”

Sarah Jane simply nodded as she watched him go to the workbench and started sonicking the device.

“Will it work?” Aera asked.

“It should do.” Sarah Jane replied as she crouched down, “John is very smart, I think he will be able to get it working.”

Aera nodded with a smile as she looked around the attic. Sarah Jane looked at the kids who all stood behind her. They could tell she was worried this wasn’t going to work. Luke came down the steps as he stood next to John at the workbench.

“You know what you’re doing, don’t you?” Luke asked.

“Of course, Lukey boy!” John laughed, “Do you not trust me?”

“I do but I’m worried it doesn’t work.” Luke replied.

“There’s no point in worrying.” John looked up to him with a wink.

They waited a couple more minutes before John finally sorted it. Mr. Smith gave him the coordinates and John set them on the dimension jump.

“Now, I’m going to test it just to make sure it’s working. I’m not sending Aera on her own on the first try.” John said as he fiddled with the device. He looked up to see Sarah Jane wearing a stoic look on her face, “What’s wrong?”

“What if you don’t come back?” Sarah Jane asked softly.

John paused. The look on Sarah Jane’s voice told him that she was really worried about all of this. He wanted to reassure but couldn’t. They had to find a way to get Aera home. Finally, he smiled at her.

“Tear down the walls of the universe.”

Before they could say anymore, John teleported out of the attic. It was silent in the attic, almost like everybody was holding a collective breath in. Sarah Jane’s stomach turned to knots as they waited for a couple of seconds. She hoped to God that he hadn’t gone back to the parallel universe or got stuck in Vubichi. 

There was another flash of light and suddenly, John was back with a big grin on his face. Sarah Jane sighed, so happy to have him back.

“Come on, Aera.” John grinned as he walked over to the little girl and held out his hand, “They’re all waiting for you!”

“They are?” Aera’s eyes lit up.

“Of course they are! Come on, we need to go. You’ll miss the party!” John said.

Aera was about to take his hand but she turned back to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane smiled down at the alien girl, happy she was getting to go where she needed to and that she had been able to help her do that. Aera smiled up to Sarah Jane before going to cuddle her. Sarah Jane was surprised by the hug from the little girl but as she crouched down, she couldn’t be happier.

“Thank you so much, Sarah Jane.” Aera grinned.

“Anytime.” Sarah Jane replied. She then kissed her forehead as she let Aera go over to John.

Sarah Jane’s breath caught as she watched John and Aera take one another’s hand and disappear again. The kids behind her were slightly more relaxed as John had come back before but as time went on, he seemed to be taking his time. 

“Mr. Smith, can you trace John on Verbuchi?” Sarah Jane asked softly.

“Yes, Sarah Jane.” Mr. Smith replied before showing a visual map of John’s location.

“He’ll be fine, mum.” Luke rested his hand on her shoulder.

“I know.” Sarah Jane nodded before looking at her son, “I just want to make sure he’s safe.”

Another flash of light appeared and John was back in the attic. Sarah Jane lit up when she saw John. She was so happy he had made it back safely. She went up to him, hugging him tightly as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. John held her waist, sighing softly into her hair.

“Is she okay?” Sarah Jane broke off the hug, “Did she get back safe?”

“Yes. They were all waiting for her and when I got her back, they were so happy to see her.” John replied with a grin.

Sarah Jane laughed before going to hug John once more.

“Right,” Clyde said, “We better get going, eh?”

“Now, hold on a minute.” Sarah Jane broke off her hug as she turned around. She crossed her arms, “What were you all doing in that restaurant?”

It was silent. The kids looked to one another, trying to avoid eye contact with Sarah Jane. John stood behind Sarah Jane, hoping she wouldn’t ask if he knew otherwise he would be on the naughty step too.

“You were spying on us, weren’t you?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Not at all.” Sky shook her head.

“Nah, not us.” Rani replied.

Sarah Jane raised her brow. She knew it was a lie. The fact Rani suggested it to them in the first place was enough evidence for it.

“We might have been a little nosey to see what was going on.” Clyde shrugged.

Sarah Jane said nothing as she shook her head. She walked up the steps as she opened the door of the attic.

“Come on. It’s late.”

The kids all left the attic as Sarah Jane laughed. She then turned to John who was looking at the dimension jump. Her heart dropped. Was he thinking about going back to the parallel universe? Did he want to be with Rose again? Did he want to leave her? Sarah Jane walked slowly down the steps as she stood in front of him.

“We need to get rid of this.” John said.

“What?” Sarah Jane asked with a frown. She didn’t expect him to say that at all.

“It’s dangerous. I don’t want this around the kids. If the walls of the universe collapse again, we can’t use this. It will make it worse.” John replied before he looked up to Sarah Jane, “I don’t have any other reason to go back anymore.”

Sarah Jane studied John’s face as he looked at her. She tried to read his expression but she could not. Instead, she looked back down to the device in his hand and took it from him. John watched as she headed over to the safe. She unlocked the safe before throwing the device in, locking the safe behind her. When she turned around, John smiled at her.

“We keep it in there.” Sarah Jane nodded.

John nodded too. Sarah Jane smiled at him as she walked over to him. She played with her hands before she looked up at him. 

“She’ll be alright, eh? Aera?”

“Yeah. She’ll be fine. She’ll be brilliant.”

They both wanted to say more as they smiled at each other but Luke called for Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane left the attic as John stood in front of Mr. Smith. There were so many things he wanted to tell her and his head felt scrambled.

John headed downstairs as he was aware of the kids talking in the kitchen. It was clear Rani and Clyde were getting ready to leave so he left them be. Instead, he headed into the living room as he looked for Sarah Jane. As he was going in, she was coming out and they stopped in front of one another.

“You alright?” Sarah Jane asked with a soft smile.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Actually, Sarah, I just wanted to say something.” John replied. He didn’t realise how nervous he was to say this to her, “I um, I had a really good night tonight. You know except for chasing after Aera at the end but really, she only wanted to get home and she was very lovely but I really did enjoy tonight. I also love being here with you and the kids and I’m so grateful you let me stay.” John then sighed softly before he looked at her, “What I’m trying to say is…”

“Sarah Jane, we’re going.” Clyde announced.

“Okay. I’ll see you two later.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“See you later.” Clyde nodded.

“Goodnight.” Rani followed after him.

“Goodnight.” John said quietly.

Rani and Clyde left and Luke locked the door after them. He then walked towards the stairs. John shuffled in his shoes. He felt antsy as he thought about what he was going to say to Sarah Jane.

“We’re going to head to bed too.” Luke said. He kissed his mum’s cheek, “Night, mum.”

“Night.” Sarah Jane smiled before Sky came over to them, “Night, Sky.”

“Goodnight.” Sky cuddled into Sarah Jane. She then looked at John, “Night, John.”

“Night. You two sleep well.” John said, his hands now in his pockets.

“You too.” Luke replied as the siblings headed upstairs.

Soon, the two were left alone on the landing. Sarah Jane noticed how quiet it was around them and how quiet John was. She turned to him as he looked at the ground, his hands in his pockets as he chewed the side of his mouth for a moment.

“What were you saying earlier?” Sarah Jane asked with a little smile.

“Hm? What? Oh, um, that. That doesn’t matter. I better head to bed.” John stuttered. He wanted to continue what he was saying but he suddenly felt very anxious when they were interrupted. 

“Are you sure?” Sarah Jane asked, “I’m happy to stay up if you need me to.”

“No, no, it’s alright.” John shook his head, “It’s not importantly. Just me rambling on.” John tried a smile. He then kissed her cheek softly, “Goodnight, Sarah.”

“Goodnight.” Was all Sarah Jane managed to push out.

She watched as John headed upstairs, disappearing into the darkness of the upstairs landing. Sarah Jane sighed. She wanted to know what he was going to say. She didn’t know why he was wanting to go upstairs and pretend he hadn’t said anything. Sarah Jane bowed her head, feeling her tiredness take over her. She turned off the lamp and headed upstairs, still wondering what John wanted to tell her.


	6. Coming Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple of days after their date, John forgets his lunch.

A couple days had passed since the date. Sarah Jane and John did not address their conversation they had after their date and almost acted like it had never happened. Sky noticed that there was something different between the two but couldn’t place it. Sky spent a lot of time observing other humans and she knew there was something more to Sarah Jane and John’s relationship, whether they addressed it themselves or not. 

Sky and John were in the car on the way to school. Sky was thinking about how Sarah Jane and John said goodbye to one another. It was quite awkward to say the least. Sky had kissed her mother on the cheek as she left, John behind her. He almost went to kiss her but then remembered that was not exactly their thing to do. Instead, he just laughed nervously and hugged Sarah Jane who looked very confused. John was cringing thinking about it as him and Sky sat quietly in the car. The music on the radio was a better distraction but he could not get it off his head. Sky looked out the window when she looked up at John.

“Do you like mum?” Sky asked.

“What?” John frowned before he started to laugh, “Of course I like your mum. She’s my best friend.”

“I don’t mean like that. I mean as something more.” Sky explained.

“Oh.” John nodded, “I see.”

“Do you? Luke, Clyde and Rani think you do. They think you both do. It’s all they ever talk about when they come over.” Sky replied.

“Well, Sky…”

“I don’t mind if you do. I think it’s best if you just tell her. I think she would be very happy if you did.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“No, but I know. I watch everything, remember?”

\- - -

Later on, Sarah Jane came home. She had just been at an interview and headed into the kitchen. As she flicked through the mail, she noticed a little box left on the side. She put down her mail as she looked at it. It was John’s lunch. He must have been in a bit of a hurry this morning that he forgot it. Sarah Jane turned to the clock on the wall and knew she had plenty of time to take it to him in time for lunch.

Sarah Jane grabbed the lunch box with an astronaut on it and headed back out to the car. She drove to Park Vale just as the bell went. Sarah Jane headed to the main entrance and walked into the school. She had a vague idea of the building’s floor plan after being here for parents’ evening and also when the Slitheen were here. She headed towards the science department when she heard someone call for her.

“Sarah Jane?”

Sarah Jane turned to see Haresh. He stood outside his office and she smiled at him as she approached.

“Hello, Haresh.” Sarah Jane smiled, “How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?” Haresh asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I thought I’d bring this in for John, he forgot it this morning.” Sarah Jane gestured down to the lunch box.

“Oh of course.” Haresh nodded, “I hate when that happens. I used to have Rani to keep me in check.”

“Well, I am surprised Sky didn’t pick it up for him.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Do you know where John’s classroom is? I always get so confused.”

“It’s down that corridor and the last one on the left. Teachers’ names are on the doors so hopefully it won’t get too confusing.” Haresh directed her.

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane grinned, “I’ll go down now. I’ll see you later.”

“See you later.” Haresh waved.

Sarah Jane headed to John’s classroom. She surprisingly found it with little difficulty. The door was open a touch but she couldn’t see his desk. She knocked on the door gently.

“Come in.”

Sarah Jane walked into the classroom. John sat at his desk as he marked some papers. He looked up at Sarah Jane and was pleasantly surprised. She was the last person he expected to see at the door. As she stood at the door, John noticed Sarah Jane was wearing a navy blue dress that had buttons down it with a sweetheart neckline and long sleeves, a blue blazer with black tights and a pair of black heeled ankle boots.

“You forgot your lunch.” Sarah Jane showed him his lunchbox.

“Oh.” John laughed as he got up from the desk. He was happy he had finished marking before she came in. He walked over to her as she handed the box to him, “You’re a star.”

“Well, I knew you would refuse to eat the school dinners.” Sarah Jane giggled.

“You can never be too careful.” John replied.

“John, Haresh is not Krillitane. I’ve never seen a Krillitane since Deffry Vale.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“Again, you can never be too careful.” John pointed with a smile as he headed to his desk.

Sarah Jane chuckled. She played with her fingers as she watched him before standing up straight.

“I better be off then.” Sarah Jane gestured to the door.

“Oh, no, stay.” John stood from his desk, “We can share…”

“I already ate.” Sarah Jane said, “I really should go, I need to get my article started.”

“Five minutes. Can you stay for five minutes?” John asked.

In reality, Sarah Jane could have stayed for as long as possible. She only wanted to leave to give him some time to himself during his lunch.

“Okay. five minutes.” Sarah Jane smiled.

John grinned. He pulled a chair over to his desk as he let Sarah Jane sit in his swivel chair.

“How’s your day been?” John asked as he ate.

“It’s been alright. I was surprised how early I got out of that interview, I thought I was going to be in there for ages.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I’m glad you did.” John smiled.

“Yeah, or you would be very hungry.”

“Or I would have come home.”

Sarah Jane looked at him for a moment. He smiled at her before continuing to eat his lunch. She smiled back as her thoughts led to other things. She remembered the other night and how he rushed off to bed. He was going to tell her something but she wasn’t sure what he was going to say. She wanted to ask but it didn’t feel right. Maybe it wasn’t the right time. Maybe he couldn’t find the right words to put together. 

“You look nice today.” John said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Hm? What?” Sarah Jane blinked.

“I’m saying you look nice today.” John replied.

“Oh. Thanks.” Sarah Jane chuckled nervously as she looked down at her clothes, “I was trying something different. I probably won’t keep it up.”

“You should. It suits you. You look great.” John replied.

Sarah Jane didn’t really know what to say. She was usually a shy person and wasn’t used to people giving her compliments but this was different. This was John, the man she had found herself falling in love with. She didn’t expect him to reciprocate those feelings but him saying that made her feel like she was on cloud nine.

“Oh, look at the time. I better go.” Sarah Jane stood up from the chair. She was glad to see her five minutes were up, feeling very awkward and very unsure of what to say.

“Wait, Sarah.” John stood. He grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand as she stood near the door which made her turn around. John knew that this probably wasn’t the best time to tell her this but he had to. He couldn’t keep it in any longer, “I need to talk to you.”

Sarah Jane was not sure what he was going to say. She was aware of the warmth of his hand holding hers and she felt her stomach turn to knots. He stepped closer as he sighed gently, finally letting go of her hand.

“Saturday night, I was going to tell you then but I couldn’t. I think I just froze but you deserve to know. At least so you know what’s going on.” John explained.

“Are you alright? You’re not ill, are you?” Sarah Jane asked. She suddenly became very worried.

“No, no. Nothing like that.” John chuckled before looking at her. He sighed, “Sarah, you are so important to me, you know that, don’t you?”

“Yes. You’re very important to me too.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Well, I want you to know that you’re more than just my best friend. You mean so much to me and you are everything to me. I love being here with you and the kids and you have done so much for me. I’m so grateful for that.” John closed his eyes as he sighed. He opened his eyes as he looked at her. He knew this was the time to say it. Finally, “What I’m trying to say is… I love you.”

Sarah Jane couldn’t believe it. He loved her? Was this true? He really loved her? There were too many words to describe how she was feeling but she couldn’t get any of them out. She studied his face, trying to take in his expression and so much more.

“You do?” Sarah Jane managed to push out.

“Yes.” John nodded, “More than anything.”

“Oh.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“It’s alright if you don’t feel the same. I just wanted you to know because it didn’t seem fair…” John began but he was stopped by Sarah Jane resting her finger over his lips.

Sarah Jane cupped his cheek, her thumb running over his cheekbone softly. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. John was shocked by her kissing him. He froze, trying to figure out what to do with his hands but slowly, they came to her waist. When they broke off the kiss, the two looked at each other. Sarah Jane then smiled.

“I love you too.”

John chuckled. He brought his lips back onto hers, kissing her once more. Sarah Jane moved her hands to go under his arms as he held her waist. The kiss was so loving and it seemed they felt more confident this time. The kiss continued as they felt themselves clinging on a little tighter to each other. John pulled her closer to him as the kiss got a little more heated. They started to back up against one of the side tables next to his desk. Their hands moved around each other’s bodies, John’s hands moving down to Sarah Jane’s hips as he was about to lift her up. Then there was a knock at the door.

They broke off the kiss, Sarah Jane quickly wiped the lipstick off John’s mouth. John walked up to the door, giving Sarah Jane one final look before opening the door. Sarah Jane was so thankful that no one could see her behind the door.

“Oh, hello.” John smiled.

“Hi, John.” The teacher at the door said, “I was wondering if you have an extra bunsen burner that I can use for next period.”

“Yeah, of course.” John nodded. Sarah Jane watched as John headed over to the cupboard behind his desk. She was finally catching her breath when he walked past, checking her lipstick in her compact mirror, “There you go.”

“Thanks, mate. I’ll get it back to you for the end of the day.” The teacher said.

“No problem.” John replied and then shut the door behind him. He turned to Sarah Jane who stood up straight from the table. They said nothing as he approached her and kissed her once more. The intensity their previous kiss returned and they moved slowly towards John’s desk. Once again, there was a knock at the door, “Oh, who’s this now?”

“You’re popular today.” Sarah Jane said.

“Lucky me.” John smirked down to her before going to answer the door, “Sky?”

“I need help with this question.” Sky walked into the classroom as she held her homework, “Hi mum.” Sky did a double take as she frowned, “What are you doing here?”

“John forgot his lunch.” Sarah Jane giggled as she straightened her dress.

“Silly me, eh?” John laughed.

“Your hair’s messy.” Sky pointed to John.

“It’s meant to look like this.” John crossed his arms, trying to ignore the state he could potentially be in right now.

“It wasn’t like that this morning.”

“I’m trying something new.”

Sky just nodded as she raised her brows. She turned her back, going to sit down at the benches. John quickly fixed his hair, making a slightly worried face to Sarah Jane. He helped Sky with her homework and soon, Sky was on her way. She shut the door behind herself before getting her phone out and dialling a number.

“Rani. No, I don’t care if you’re in a lecture right now. This is important, I have something to tell you.”

Sarah Jane and John did a sigh of relief as John got up from the table.

“I better go.” Sarah Jane said softly as John approached her.

“Stay.” John replied, “I have a double free period after lunch.”

“Take a girl to dinner first.”

“I already did.”

“You might have to do it again.”

The two laughed. Sarah Jane kissed him once more before she smoothed down his hair. She smiled.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“Your place?”

“What about yours?”

“We’ll go there.”

Sarah Jane giggled. She walked over to the door as John still held onto her hands until she was too far for him to reach. She gave John one last look before leaving the classroom. When she was gone and the door shut, John couldn’t help but do a little dance of joy.

\- - -

Later on, John and Sky came home. Sky disappeared to her bedroom to get changed as John met Sarah Jane in the attic. She was at her desk as she typed, her blazer hanging on the back of her chair. John sneaked into the room, making sure she didn’t hear him. Sarah Jane gasped when she felt lips plant a gentle kiss on her temple. She turned to see John behind her as she laughed.

“You gave me the fright of my life.” Sarah Jane held her chest.

“I’m sorry.” John chuckled as Sarah Jane stood.

“It’s alright. Where’s Sky?” Sarah Jane asked.

“In her room.” John replied with a mad grin.

Sarah Jane giggled as she went to kiss him. This kiss was a lot more tame but had the same sense of longing. They held each other close but were aware of footsteps approaching the attic. When the door creaked open, they moved from each other quickly. John walked down the steps to stand near Mr. Smith as Sarah Jane focused on saving her article.

“Hi mum.” Sky approached Sarah Jane.

“Hello.” Sarah Jane smiled, kissing her head, “How was your day?”

“It was good…” Sky began explaining her day to Sarah Jane. The two went to walk out the attic, Sarah Jane looking back at John with a small smirk.

They all headed downstairs as they listened to Sky talk about her day. They went to the kitchen, deciding what they were going to have for dinner. Sarah Jane offered to cook but John and Sky were not going to let that happen. The doorbell went and Sky went to the door.

“You sure you don’t want me to cook?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No way.” John laughed as he took out a pot from the drawer. He put it on the bunker as he turned to her, “Besides, didn’t I say I was going to treat you to some dinner?”

Sarah Jane laughed, her head resting on his shoulder. She looked up at him as she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. John held her waist as they looked at one another.

“I love you.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

“I love you too.” John replied.

Sarah Jane smiled back at him but before they could do anything, they were interrupted.

“Pizza!” Clyde exclaimed from the hall. Sarah Jane and John quickly moved away from each other as Luke, Clyde and Rani appeared at the door with Sky.

“What are you three doing here?” Sarah Jane asked.

“We thought we’d pay a little visit.” Rani crossed her arms with a smile.

“Yeah, a family night.” Luke grinned.

The four teens all headed to the living room chattering away. Sarah Jane and John looked at one another. They knew this wasn’t going to be exactly a quiet night they could have to themselves.

“Grab the wine, I’ll get the glasses.” Sarah Jane pointed to the bottle on the side.

They headed to the living room as the teens talked and ate. They made the conscious decision to not sit next to each other. They weren’t totally oblivious to their motives. If they could spy on them in a restaurant, they can show up unannounced and try to catch a quiet moment between the two. Sarah Jane sat on the couch with Luke, Sky sitting at her feet. Clyde and Rani sat on the other couch with John sitting opposite Sky on the floor. 

“How’s Sanjay?” Sarah Jane asked as she took a slice of pizza. Luke and Sanjay’s relationship had grown more and they started going out. It was very early days but Luke couldn’t be happier.

“He’s good.” Luke grinned, “He would have come but he has to revise for an exam.”

“Aww, I hope he does well. I’m sure he will, he’s a smart boy.” Sarah Jane replied.

“We should have him over one night for dinner.” Sky said.

“Oh definitely.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“He actually said about you all coming to ours. Especially when we get into our own flat, it’ll be good to have everyone over.” Luke replied.

“That would be lovely.” Sarah Jane said, “You look really happy, Luke. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you, mum.” Luke smiled as Sarah Jane kissed his head.

“Oh, Luke, we went to that restaurant you said about to us yesterday.” Clyde said.

“What restaurant?” Luke frowned.

“You know, the restaurant.” Clyde widened his eyes.

“The Italian one.” Rani added, “The one you and Sanjay went to.”

“Oh. Ohh.” The penny dropped for Luke. He couldn’t remember telling them about a restaurant but he assumed this was some sort of plan, “What was it like?”

“It was really nice.” Clyde nodded, “The food’s great.”

“Yeah, it’s so romantic as well. You two would love it there, so nice!” Rani gestured to Sarah Jane and John.

“Really?” Sarah Jane frowned. She almost had to do a double take when she heard what Rani said.

“Yeah! So lovely.” Rani took a slice of a pizza.

They all continued to talk so Sarah Jane and John didn’t get the chance to correct them. They looked at one another as they frowned. Throughout dinner, the kids kept dropping hints about Sarah Jane and John being a couple. The two couldn’t get a word in edgeways and decided to not even bother correcting them, half of because they didn’t mind them thinking they were a couple and half of them wanting to keep it a secret. At least for now.

Sarah Jane stood at the sink as she washed the dishes. John brought some more through to the kitchen before beginning to dry the ones Sarah Jane had just cleaned. 

“You okay?” John asked.

“Yeah,” Sarah Jane nodded, “You?”

“Yeah. It was nice of them to bring dinner. I had fun tonight.” John replied.

Sarah Jane said nothing as she looked up at him with a deadpan look. John turned to her and smiled.

“What?” John chuckled.

“They’re not here just for dinner.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re spying on us again. In our own home.”

Luke, Clyde, Rani and Sky watched from the living room as Sarah Jane and John talked quietly. They poked their heads out from the doors as they tried to listen.

“What are they saying?” Clyde asked.

“Shhh.” Sky hushed him.

“Look!” Rani shook Clyde’s arm as John rested his hand on the slope of Sarah Jane’s back, “Do you think they’ll… oh my God!”

They all watched as Sarah Jane and John leaned in and kissed one another for a couple of seconds. Silence seemed to fall over the teens but they were all ecstatic. The two broke off their kiss as they smiled at one another. They turned to look into the living room and Luke, Clyde, Rani and Sky all moved so they couldn’t see them. Sarah Jane and John looked back at each other.

“They know, don’t they?” John asked quietly.

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane nodded.

Rani and Clyde soon left and Luke and Sky went to bed. Sarah Jane turned off all the lights downstairs before heading up to her room. John was on the landing as he was coming down from the attic.

“Is that you off to bed?” John asked as he stood in front of the door of his bedroom.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, standing at her bedroom door, “You?”

“Yeah.” John replied. Suddenly, they found themselves struggling to find the words to say. They looked at one another as they tried to think of something to say.

Sarah Jane watched as John approached her. He cupped her face as he kissed her. She stood against the doorframe, one hand on the doorknob and the other around his neck. John held her waist as he kissed her, leading her into the bedroom as Sarah Jane finally opened the door. She closed the door behind them, the faint whirring sound of her sonic lipstick as she locked the door.


	7. The Big Scoop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane goes to investigate a science institute with Sky by her side.

John and Sky sat in the attic on the red leather couch. John helped Sky with her homework, talking quietly as they laughed and ate pizza. Sarah Jane was out doing an interview so they had the house to themselves. Until they heard the footsteps approaching. The door opened and Sarah Jane walked in. John and Sky smiled as they looked up at her. John and Sarah Jane were now ‘officially’ a couple and had told the kids not long after they got together although they knew very well they had started seeing each other. That part was a bit of an open secret in the group.

“Hello.” John said, “You alright? How was your interview?”

“It was fine. A bit boring actually.” Sarah Jane chuckled. She took off her blazer before sitting on the armrest of the couch next to Sky as she played with her hair, “How was your day?”

“Good. Haresh has asked me to start a club at lunchtime.” John explained, “Science club. Probably should come up with a better name.”   
“That’ll be fun. Are you going to go, Sky?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I think so.” Sky nodded as she wrote, “Depends on what day it is.”

“I’m going to talk to Haresh about it. He said that a lot more pupils are enjoying science since I came.” John grinned widely.

“Aww that’s good!” Sarah Jane chuckled before going to get a slice of pizza, “Is that what you’re planning to do tomorrow?”

“Oh no. Me and Sky planned to watch all the Star Wars films. You can join us if you like.” John replied, putting his arm around Sky.

“But you can’t do that?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“What do you mean? Of course we can!” John replied.

“Yeah, it’s only going to take thirteen hours and twenty six minutes.” Sky added.

“You have an in-service day tomorrow.” Sarah Jane reminded them.

“Yeah, exactly.” John nodded, “We’ll be off.”   
“Sky will be off. Teachers go into school.” Sarah Jane replied.

“What?” They both asked in unison, the same disappointed tone in their voice. 

“Did you not know that?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No. I wasn’t informed.” John replied, “This is my first time actually being a teacher. Deffry Vale doesn’t count.”   
“Well, you did blow it up after two days of working there.” Sarah Jane shrugged. She then looked around for a book that she couldn’t see, “Oh, I forgot to bring that bloody book up.”

“The mythological one?” Sky asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be back in a minute.” Sarah Jane stood up.

“I’ll get it, mum. I need to go downstairs anyway.” Sky stood as she gathered up her homework.

“Oh okay. Thank you.” Sarah Jane smiled as she watched her daughter walk out of the attic. She turned back to John who was quiet. He was fiddling with the cuff links. Sarah Jane frowned. She knew something was up. Sarah Jane joined him on the couch as she wrapped her arms around his arm, “What’s the matter?”

“I was really looking forward to tomorrow.” John said softly. 

“Oh, John.” Sarah Jane rested her head on his shoulder, “You can do it at the weekend. Besides, the school holidays are coming up soon. You’ll have plenty of time to do it.”

“But we’ve been planning it all week.” John huffed.

Sarah Jane couldn’t help but chuckle. She cuddled into him as she sighed. She thought about how close John had become with her kids and it made her so happy. She felt like she had finally got the family she wanted and though her and John had only just got together, it felt right and Sarah Jane couldn’t be happier. John looked at her as he smiled softly. Sarah Jane cupped his cheek, her thumb grazing his cheekbone.

“Just think, it’ll only be a couple of meetings and you can stay in your classroom all day and then come home and we can have a relaxed night.” Sarah Jane said, “You’ll be home before you know it.”

John chuckled as he kissed her softly. Sarah Jane smiled up at him as she cuddled in more.

“Let’s hope no aliens ruin our plans.” John said.

“Don’t speak too soon.” Sarah Jane raised her brows as she sat up and grabbed another slice of pizza, “We might meet a Travast Polong at the weekend.”

“I can’t wait.” John grinned as he rubbed her back.

Sarah Jane chuckled as she ate when her phone began to ring. She turned to her phone on the table as she picked it up and answered it. She walked over to her desk as she talked. Sky walked into the attic and put the book back on the shelf before joining John on the couch. They talked quietly, not disturbing Sarah Jane during her call.

“I’ve got another story to do tomorrow.” Sarah Jane walked over to them as they separated, letting her sit in the middle, “What do you think, Sky? You could tag along, we could get something to eat later?”

“Yeah, that would be good.” Sky smiled.

“And what will I do?” John raised a brow. The two looked at him with wide eyes.

“You could… listen to how lovely our day was.” Sarah Jane grinned.

John nudged her as she and Sky giggled. He shook his head with a smile. Sky cuddled into Sarah Jane, Sarah Jane kissing her head. As she rested her head on top of hers, she looked at John. John smiled at her and Sky. He was so happy with them and though he would not have a day off tomorrow, to be with them was wonderful and thought of going home to them was the best thing.

\- - -

Sarah Jane sat in the living room as she read the newspaper. It was just before eight o’clock and she was aware of John rushing around the house as he got ready. She continued to read the paper when she heard her living room door open.

“I thought you were going to have a lie in?” Sarah Jane frowned as Sky walked in.

“Well, I was but I got woken up by John looking for his suitcase in the attic.” Sky joined Sarah Jane on the couch, her legs brought to her chest.

“He really needs to stop throwing it when he comes in.” Sarah Jane shook her head before putting down her newspaper, “You should have went back to sleep. He’s leaving soon.”

“I’m gonna get ready. I thought that I’ll go through some more of the alien files with Mr. Smith.”

“Oh that’s good. You’ve been doing that a lot recently, haven’t you?”

“I need to be prepared if any aliens I don’t know come back to Earth. Besides, I like to learn and Mr. Smith is a good teacher.”

“Who’s a better teacher? Mr. Smith or John?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Sarah Jane giggled. John walked into the living room as he grabbed his reading glasses that he had left on the coffee table.

“Right, that’s me off.” John said, “I’ll try my best to get home early.”

“I’m sure you can persuade Haresh.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“We’ll see. See you later.” John walked around the coffee table and kissed Sarah Jane on the lips.

“Have a good day.” Sarah Jane replied.

“See you later, Sky.” John kissed Sky’s head.

“Bye.” Sky smiled.

“You two have fun today.” John winked at them before leaving the house.

“Don’t forget your lunch.” Sarah Jane called back.

“Oh bloody hell.” John said under his breath. Sarah Jane giggled as she watched him walk back into the kitchen and then back out with his lunchbox in his hand, “Bye!”

Sky got ready and worked through the alien files whilst Sarah Jane typed up her article from yesterday. It got closer to the time when they had to leave and the two headed out to the car. They got into the car and Sarah Jane started driving out of the street.

“What is this interview for?” Sky asked.

“I’m not entirely sure. I just was told that it’s some new science institute.” Sarah Jane shrugged, “I haven’t had a lot of time to research, only what I’ve been given. That’s why we’re leaving early.”

“Why? What are we going to do?” Sky asked.

“We’re going to have a little investigation.” Sarah Jane smiled.

Sky giggled. They soon pulled up to a large flashy building that was in the city. Sarah Jane parked up and the two sat in the car as they looked up at the building.

“The occupants moved in a couple of months ago and had the place all done up.” Sarah Jane explained as she looked through her bag and pulled out a brochure that the editor from the newspaper had sent her, “Apparently, they are trying to build a machine that stops ageing.”

“Ageing?” Sky asked.

“Yeah. Getting old.” Sarah Jane replied, “There was something like that built a few years ago. A man called Professor Lazarus made the machine and then turned into this large spider-like creature. You should have seen the papers after it.”

“Did you stop him?” Sky asked with wide eyes.

“No but the Doctor did. You should ask John about it when we get home. Martha was there too. I’m sure we can talk about it when we next see her. That reminds me, I need to get a present for August’s birthday.” Sarah Jane pulled out her pad and wrote down a reminder for herself.

“How are we going to get in?”

“There is a door around the back that leads to the machine.”

“How did you find that out?”

Sarah Jane took out a copy of the blueprints that had been left in the brochure that was put through her door the night before. Sky read the blueprints, noticing the circled section. As Sky read the blueprints, Sarah Jane noticed some people walking out the front of the building. 

“We better go around the back.” Sarah Jane started up the car, “It’ll be easier to get out and hide the car.”

Sarah Jane drove around the back and the two got out. They kept in the shadows the best they could as they reached the back entrance. Sarah Jane sonicked the back door before walking in with Sky close behind her. 

They entered the building as they walked into the warehouse side of the building. Sarah Jane took out her torch as Sky took her hand. They walked, looking around and hiding when someone was there. Sarah Jane knew she was getting closer and closer to their destination. She brought Sky closer to her, finally reaching the door. She sonicked that door and they walked in.

The room was massive and had large flood lights focused on the machinery. The machinery in the centre was massive and was in the shape of a human. There were computers around the room, quiet beeps and lights flashed. 

“Wow.” Sky said softly, “Is that the machine that stops you ageing?”

“I think so.” Sarah Jane nodded as she stepped closer, “This can’t be human technology. This is more.”

“Well, it’s new. It maybe looks a lot more different from anything we’ve seen before.” Sky replied.

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Sarah Jane said.

Sarah Jane looked around the room and decided to go up to one of the monitors. She didn’t want to touch any controls in case she let off any alarms or broke something. Sky stood next to her as she looked too.

“Do you know what any of it means, mum?” Sky asked.

“No, I don’t. We’re probably best to see it working.” Sarah Jane replied.

Suddenly, they heard movement outside. They quickly hid around the large monitors as the doors opened. Two men and a woman walked into the room, one man and the woman in lab coats and the other man in a suit, clearly another journalist with his notepad and pen. As they entered the room, the journalist’s mouth dropped.

“Wow!” He said, “This is magnificent.”

“Thank you. It really has been my life’s work.” The male scientist explained, “I’m so pleased to be finally showing it to the public. I think a lot of people will benefit from it.”

“Oh definitely.” The journalist nodded, his eyes still wide as he looked at the machine.

“Would you like to give it a go?” The male scientist asked.

“Oh, I’m not sure.” The journalist said, “I think my wife will be shocked by how I look when I get home.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it! Come on, I think it’ll be wonderful for you. And for us too, our first customer. Obviously free of charge.” The male scientist laughed.

The journalist smiled as he put his notepad and pen down. He took off his coat and hung it on the back of a chair nearby and stepped forward. The two scientists opened up the machine for the journalist to sit in it. They strapped him in as the male scientists stepped back. The female scientist walked up to the controls, her hand resting on a large lever.

“Are we ready?” She asked.

“Yes.” The male scientist nodded.

The female scientist pulled the lever and slowly, the journalist’s face began to change. He did start to become younger. Sarah Jane and Sky watched as their eyes squinted as the lights got brighter. The machine started to spark and the journalist started to cry out in pain. Sky closed her eyes, burying her face into Sarah Jane’s chest as she looked away. Sarah Jane held her, her hands over Sky’s ears as she too closed her eyes. Finally, the screaming stopped. Sarah Jane opened her as she could see the burnt skeleton of the journalist that had been there. Her heart was beating fast in her chest. Was this meant to happen? If it was, why were they doing this? Sarah Jane had too many questions but right now, she had to think about Sky. She couldn’t let her be exposed to this so early on. She had heard and seen enough. 

The two scientists said nothing as they left the room. The female scientist stopped, sniffing the air which made Sarah Jane frown. She then left and people disposed of the skeleton before they were finally alone. Sky lifted her head from Sarah Jane’s chest.

“They killed him, didn’t they?” Sky asked.

“Yes. Yes, they did.” Sarah Jane replied, “I shouldn’t have brought you here. You should go out to the car. I need to have a look around.”

“No way! They could do the same to you.”

“Sky, I’m not risking your life-.”

“And I’m not risking yours. I won’t let you be on your own, mum.”

Sarah Jane sighed. She nodded. She kissed Sky’s head as she held her close to her. Sky looked back up at her.

“Are you okay?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah.” Sky nodded.

“Right. Let’s have a look at this then.” Sarah Jane said as they stepped into the main room.

Sarah Jane walked up to the machine as she started the scan with her watch. Sky looked at the monitors. It seemed that it was in a different language and she could not understand what any of it meant.

“Mum, look. This is in a different language.” Sky pointed to the monitor. 

“It’s times like this when I really wish we had the TARDIS.” Sarah Jane said, “Or that Mr. Smith had legs.”

Sarah Jane’s watch started to beep. The two looked at one another before Sarah Jane looked at her watch. Her eyes widened when she realised what the readings meant. Before she could say anything, the doors swung open. The two scientists walked in as Sarah Jane pulled Sky around her.

“Ah, Miss Smith.” The male scientist said, “We should have expected that you would break in. And with a child no less.”

“I know what you are.” Sarah Jane backed away, “I suggest you leave this planet right now.”

“Now, why would we do that?” The male scientist stepped forward, “We have so much in store for this planet. Wouldn’t you like to see?”

Sarah Jane and Sky backed up slowly as the male scientist lifted his hands to his forehead. He started to unzip his head, a bright blue light flashing in front of them. Sarah Jane and Sky shut their eyes until the light was gone. He was Slitheen. 

“Mum, that’s a Slitheen.” Sky’s eyes widened, “Mr. Smith showed me them today!”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll be very well acquainted then.” The Slitheen laughed.

“Why are you here?” Sarah Jane asked, “What is the meaning of this machine?”

“The amount of times our family has been to this planet, the thing we noticed the most is that humans are obsessed with beauty.” The Slitheen explained.

“We thought we would design something every human would get their dirty paws on.” The female scientist added, “Something that will make them look as young as they want to be.”

“But you killed him!” Sarah Jane said, “That was intentional.”

“Of course it was. We weren’t going to let them live out their dreams. We’re going to use what they want the most against them. Not only are humans incredibly vain, they are incredibly stupid as well.” The female scientist replied, “Once you are all wiped out, we will use this planet for profit. We will be so very rich!”

“You’re wrong. This is wrong. You can’t use our planet for profit. You can’t do this.” Sky said.

“You just watch us, kiddo.” The female scientist stepped forward before turning to her Slitheen relative, “Don’t you think it’s time Miss Smith used our wonderful machine? Make her look young and beautiful again?”

“I do, sister.” The Slitheen nodded.

“No. No, don’t you dare.” Sarah Jane and Sky stepped back as the female scientist approached her, “Don’t touch me.”

“Oh, come on, Miss Smith. We know that you wouldn’t mind a little touch up.” The female scientist grabbed her. Her grip on Sarah Jane was tight and as much as Sarah Jane kicked and screamed, she couldn’t get out.

“Mum!” Sky shouted.

“Let me go!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as she was brought over to the machine. The female scientist strapped her in, “Let me out of this thing right now!”

“Squabbling will get you nowhere.” The scientist said.

Sky stepped forward as she tried her best to stop the disguised Slitheen was grabbed by the other Slitheen. His large arm was around her, his claws at her neck. Sky breathed deeply, terrified to move.

“Let her go! Please let her go.” Sarah Jane begged.

“Oh, I don’t think so. She will be a great kill after you.” The Slitheen said.

The scientist walked up to the control panel as she put her hand on the lever. She smirked, clearly taking great pleasure in this.

“Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith.” She said before pulling the lever.

Sky watched as the lights got brighter and slowly, Sarah Jane started to grow younger. Sarah Jane closed her eyes as she started to weaken. Her heart thundered in her chest. She was about to watch her mother die. The scientist turned around with a smirk as she started to unzip her forehead too and was now in her Slitheen form. She turned to Sky as she lifted up her claws.

“This will be so very satisfying.”

“Step away from her right now.”

They all turned to see John walk in as he pointed an alien gun at them. Sky’s eyes widened, surprised to see him with a gun. Her heart seemed to beat faster and faster now. The female Slitheen turned before she started to laugh.

“That gun is inactive. Did you really expect us to fall for that?” She asked menacingly.

“Maybe not but it definitely kept you distracted.” John shrugged before he pointed his sonic screwdriver at the machine Sarah Jane was in and activated it. It started to spark as the restraints released Sarah Jane and the machine broke down.

The Slitheen released Sky as she ran over to John. They tried to fix the controls so it could continue the de-ageing process it had begun on Sarah Jane but Sky managed to destroy the machine with her powers. The two Slitheen yelped as they stepped back from the controls as they sparked. John and Sky laughed as they watched the controls but they then noticed that Sarah Jane was about to collapse from the machine that had released her. John rushed over to her just in time to catch her. He held her in his arms as he brought her down to the ground slowly. He held her head in his lap, watching as she slowly returned to her actual age.

“How did you know to come?” Sky asked as she panted, joining them on the floor.

“My psychic paper. I made sure I left the TARDIS with one. You and your mum don’t know how strong your minds are.” John grinned as he tapped his pocket.

Sky smiled at him as she cuddled into his arm. They then turned when they noticed the Slitheen approaching them. Their faces dropped, knowing they had to move.

“We need to get out of here.” John said as he lifted Sarah Jane up from the ground.

They backed up slowly as the Slitheen approached them. The doors then swung open again as Clyde and Rani ran in, spray bottles in their hands.

“Take cover!” Clyde shouted as he and Rani threw the vinegar in the spray bottles over the Slitheen.

Sky and John ran off behind large fans as John kept a hold of Sarah Jane. Clyde and Rani hid behind large pipes as the Slitheen exploded. They slowly stepped out as they looked at the splattered Slitheen guts all over the room.

“Do you two have psychic paper too?” John asked.

“Psychic paper?” Rani screwed up her face.

“Never mind.” John shook his head, “How did you know it was Slitheen?”

“Rani wanted to investigate and I had to be the sandwich carrier.” Clyde shrugged.

“Yeah. I was reading about it and thought I would investigate. I might have posed as a cleaner last week.” Rani replied.

“Oh, you two are good!” John grinned, “Where’s Luke?”

“We tried to get him to come but he’s on a date with Sanjay.” Clyde explained.

“She’ll be pleased.” John gestured down to Sarah Jane as she started to stir in his arms. He looked up at them, “We better get out of here.”

“Mum’s car.” Sky looked up at John, “We can’t leave it here.”

“We can follow you back to Bannerman Road.” Clyde said.

“Are you sure? How did you get here?” John asked.

“Bus.” Rani and Clyde said in unison.

They headed out to the cars as they kept in the shadows. As they got to the car, Sarah Jane continued to stir. Slowly, she opened her eyes as she looked up at John.

“John?” Sarah Jane said weakly.

“Surprise.” He grinned down at her.

“Sky phoned?”

“Sort of. You sort of did too. Psychic paper works a treat.”

“My knight in shining armour.”

“Always.”

John got Sarah Jane into his car before they all drove home. When they got to Bannerman Road, Sarah Jane felt better to walk and headed to her bedroom to have a sleep. Clyde and Rani thought it was best to just leave them be so they headed over Haresh and Gita’s. John was in the kitchen as he made tea for Sarah Jane. Sky walked in as she grabbed an apple. John turned when he heard her come in.

“How is she?” John said.

“She’s okay. Still sleeping I think.” Sky replied as she bit out of the apple, “Will she be okay? I mean that machine fried the man that went in before us.”

“Oh, she’ll be fine. It was nowhere near causing that much damage to your mum’s body. Maybe just slowed her aging ever so slightly. Not that she had any problem with that.” John chuckled. He then turned to Sky, “What about you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Sky smiled.

“You used your powers today. You know your mum doesn’t like that. She says it can make you tired.” John raised a brow.

“I’m fine. I didn’t use a lot.” Sky shrugged, “Besides, she doesn’t have to know that I used them. She was asleep.”

“Just be careful. You know what she’s like.” John replied.

“Yeah, I know. She’s the boss.” Sky left the kitchen.

John chuckled to himself as he shook his head. He finished making Sarah Jane’s tea and decided to head upstairs to their room. He opened the door quietly as he walked into the dim room. Sarah Jane’s back was to him as she slept, almost curled in a ball. The radio next on Sarah Jane’s side was on and played some Katy Perry song. He slowly approached the bed, putting the mug of tea on the bedside table at his side. He decided it was best to just leave her at peace. John turned back to the door, about to leave.

“John?”

John turned to see Sarah Jane turned slightly. Her eyes were half open as her hair fell over her face slightly. He smiled at her.

“I brought you some tea. I thought I’d let you sleep. It’s been a-.”

“Lay with me.”

John knew he could not say no. Sarah Jane moved her as John kicked off his trainers and joined her on the bed. Sarah Jane cuddled into him as she rested her head on his chest. It was still strange to not hear that double heartbeat but hearing any heartbeat at all against that chest was enough for her. John played with her hair, the soft strands being twindled around his fingertips. Sarah Jane held his waist tightly. He watched as her eyes closed, gently sighing softly.

“How are you feeling?” John asked quietly.

“Tired.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to leave you to sleep?” John went to sit up.

“No. Stay.” Sarah Jane rested her hand on his chest as she stopped him from getting up.

John smiled as he lay back down. Sarah Jane rested her head on his chest once more as John rubbed her shoulder.

“We might need to take a break from this for a little while. I seem to be always getting ill.”

“It’s never stopped you before.”

Sarah Jane chuckled before she looked up at him.

“How was your day?” Sarah Jane asked softly.

“It was alright. Incredibly boring. Until I got a message from the psychic paper.” John replied, “And then it got a little more eventful.”

Sarah Jane laughed. She looked up at him.

“Thank you for coming. What happened to that other journalist… it was so horrible.”

“You’re safe now.” John cupped her face, “I’m not going to let anything like that happen again.”

Sarah Jane leaned in and captured his lips in a gentle and grateful kiss. They broke off the kiss as John pushed her hair out of her face, his fingers running through her hair. They studied each other’s faces. They were just happy to be in each other’s arms. But suddenly Sarah Jane had a thought that made her frown.

“Why did you have the gun?” Sarah Jane asked. She couldn’t help but worry that he wanted to kill.

“It’s actually from that Lozoi lot. I decided to take the gun just in case they get in the mess they did last time and I forgot to put it in the safe.” John replied, “I knew it was inactive so thought it was best to just seem threatening with it.”

“Very threatening.” Sarah Jane nodded before giggling.”

“Threatening is my middle name.” John winked, “Speaking of names, I thought of some names for the science club today.”

“Oh really?” Sarah Jane reached over for the tea at the side. She took a sip, “Go on then. What have you come up with?”

“Well, there’s ‘Science Lovers’ but that one was a bit boring and then I thought of ‘Galaxy Blasters’.” John replied. Sarah Jane giggled into her mug, “What is it?”

“You can’t call a science club ‘Galaxy Blasters’.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a bad name. It’s not exactly appealing.”

“Well, what would you call it?”

Sarah Jane sighed as she thought. She took a sip of her tea. John chuckled quietly, watching her think. 

“What about… ‘Intelligent Minds’?”

John paused for a moment.

“That’s actually not that bad actually.”

“See? You’d be lost without me.” Sarah Jane giggled before putting her tea to the side.

“That’s true. That’s very true.” John replied with a chuckle.

Sarah Jane cuddled into him as she giggled. John kissed her head softly. As they relaxed, listening to each other’s breathing and the Prince song now playing on the radio, they slowly started to doze off.


	8. Friends Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane, John and Sky go to some derelict flats and are met with something, or someone, they really did not expect.

A month or so later…

\- - -

John ran through the warehouse as he panted. He kept an eye for anything behind him as he turned a corner. He could see the doors that he was running to starting to close. He tried to pick up the speed but the doors lowered further and further. John got onto the floor, sliding under the closing doors just in time. John was now outside and the doors were closed but he still had to move. He ran from the main entrance, running towards the fence nearby. Wheels screeched behind him as he ran, a door unlocking.

“John!” Sarah Jane shouted.

John turned as he rushed up to the car, getting into the passenger seat as Sarah Jane floored the car. Sky sat in the back, watching what was going on from behind her at the building. Sarah Jane drove fast out of the warehouse car park and she was just in time when the building exploded. Sarah Jane stopped the car as the three watched the abandoned building go up in flames. 

“Did they get out?” Sarah Jane asked. There had been Slitheen again trying to take over the Earth for easy money.

“Yeah, they did. Teleported before I even stopped the machine.” John replied.

“Well, at least no one died.” Sarah Jane nodded. She put her car in gear, “We better get home. In time for lunch too!”

The three laughed before Sarah Jane started driving home. They drove home, pulling up the drive. The three got out, talking quietly as they headed inside.

“Mr. Smith, I need you.” Sarah Jane called as she walked into the attic.

“Yes, Sarah Jane?” Mr. Smith said.

“Can you scan for the Slitheen and make sure they’re gone?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Of course.” Mr. Smith replied, “Scanning.”

Sarah Jane stood, waiting for Mr. Smith to finish scanning for the Slitheen. She felt hands near her shoulders as her jacket slipped off her back. She turned to see John helping her take off her jacket as she smiled.

“Oh, thank you.” Sarah Jane giggled softly. She then turned, “Where’s Sky?”

“Downstairs. Think she went to go get something to eat.” John replied.

“Oh right.” Sarah Jane nodded as she turned back to Mr. Smith.

John hung up Sarah Jane’s jacket as he wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he planted soft kisses on her neck. Sarah Jane started to giggle at the soft feeling of his lips and the scratch of his short stubble.

“John, stop.” Sarah Jane giggled as she moved away slightly, holding onto his hands that rested on her stomach.

“Shh.” John hushed into her hair as he continued to kiss her neck gently.

Sarah Jane giggled more before she turned around in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed his lips. They kissed for a couple of seconds, holding onto each other tightly. John wrapped his arms around her waist as they kissed softly. They broke it off as they looked into one another’s eyes.

“You okay?” Sarah Jane asked, her hands resting on the nape of his neck.

“Yeah, I’m good.” John replied with a smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t help with the Slitheen.”

“I told you to go though?”

“I know but you know what I’m like. I can be quite stubborn when you tell me to go.”

“And that’s why I don’t tell you to go much.”

The two laughed.

“Besides, you did enough. I just wanted to make sure you and Sky got out too.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Sarah Jane smiled at him before she kissed him once more. They held each other close, totally lost in the kiss and being with one another.

“Alert, alert.” Mr. Smith called out. Sarah Jane and John broke off the kiss abruptly as they turned to the supercomputer.

“What is it?” Sarah Jane asked.

“A fleet of unknown life forms have entered the Earth’s atmosphere. I am unable to identify them as they have shielded their ships.” Mr. Smith announced.

“Do you know where they’re heading?” John asked.

“They seem to be heading in the direction of the Brindleton Estate.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Whereabouts is that?” John asked.

“Not far from here. The derelict flat blocks. They’re going to be demolished next month.” Sarah Jane replied before going up the steps as she grabbed her jacket, “Come on, let’s go.”

Sarah Jane and John left the attic as they thundered down the stairs. Sky sat in the living room as she ate a sandwich and watched television. She heard footsteps coming downstairs and she frowned.

“Sky, get your coat!” Sarah Jane called.

“Why?” Sky frowned.

“We’re going out!”

Sky huffed, turning off the television as she took another bite out of her sandwich. She grabbed her jacket that she had left on the back of the couch and followed her mother and John outside. They decided to walk to the estate as it wasn’t too far away. The three walked onto the derelict land and headed to the empty estate. It was eerie and it seemed to feel colder here.

“I already don’t like this.” Sky said quietly.

“Oh, we’ll be fine.” John nudged, “Let’s have a look around.”

“Have they landed yet?” Sky asked, looking up to the sky.

“I’m not sure. Let’s go to the flats, they could be in there.” Sarah Jane replied.

They headed towards the block of flats, deciding to go to the one in the middle first. They stayed close to each other as they went up to the first floor. Some of the flats were unlocked and they were able to go in. John went into one flat whilst Sarah Jane went into another. Sky waited outside the two flats, looking around the area. She wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, just occasionally looking into the doors of the flats Sarah Jane and John had gone into. As she crossed her arms, Sky heard a clatter nearby. She stood up straight, looking around as she tried to figure out where the sound had come from. It was too far away to be from the flats as she walked further, there was another clatter that was soon followed by fast footsteps approaching. 

“Mum?” Sky called. The footsteps getting closer and closer as her heartbeat faster and faster, “Mum!”

Neither Sarah Jane nor John came out of the flats and Sky was close to running away when the footsteps were now seconds away. Sky caught a glimpse of where, or more who, the footsteps were coming from. There seemed to be three people approaching her. Two men and one woman. They were all quite tall and the man in the middle seemed to be the one in charge. They looked just a bit older than Luke, Clyde and Rani. The man in the middle wore a tweed blazer with a red bow tie and white shirt, black trousers and black shoes. He also had dark brown hair whilst the man behind him wore a blue check shirt with a body warmer, jeans with Timberland type boots and he had mousy brown hair. The woman had auburn hair and wore a red check shirt, brown leather jacket, denim skirt with black tights and knee high black boots.

“Hey! Hey, it’s alright!” The man in the tweed approached quickly. He could tell Sky was scared of them and he tried his best to comfort her, “What are you doing here? Do you live here?”

Sky said nothing as she looked at them with wide eyes. She knocked on the door in the flat behind her as she let the footsteps approach. Sarah Jane stepped out.

“What’s wrong, Sk-?” Sarah Jane paused when she saw the three standing before her. Her eyes widened, slowly stepping forward, “Doctor?”

“Hello, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor smiled. He was just as shocked as she was to see her but so happy. He had so many things to tell her and he presumed she had a lot to tell her too. The Doctor was actually thankful to see her because he felt like he needed her after everything he had been through since he last saw her. He held out his arms as he laughed.

Sarah Jane smiled, still slightly shocked to see him. She went up to him, hugging him tightly. The Doctor laughed as he held her.

“Oh, it’s good to see you, Smith!” The Doctor said, “It’s been way too long!”

“It has!” Sarah Jane broke off the hug as she looked at him. She wanted to soak up this face. She was now so used to being with John that seeing the Doctor seemed so strange.

“You look confused.” The Doctor frowned, “You okay?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine.” Sarah Jane giggled nervously. She then noticed the couple behind her and she smiled as she let go of him, “You must be Amy and Rory.”

“Yes. This is Amy and Rory, the Ponds.” The Doctor introduced, “This is Sarah Jane Smith.”

“Oh, that Sarah Jane!” Amy grinned as she shook Sarah Jane’s hand, “He talks about you a lot!”

“Really?” Sarah Jane raised her brow.

“Oh yeah.” Amy nodded with a smirk before nudging Rory, “Eh, Rory? He does.”

“Yeah, he does.” Rory nodded as he shook Sarah Jane’s hand, “Never stops.”

“A slight exaggeration.” The Doctor rolled his eyes before pointing to Sky, “Who’s that?”

“This is Sky. She’s my daughter.” Sarah Jane put her arm around Sky.

“Hi.” Sky waved shyly.

“Hiya.” Amy smiled.

“Daughter? Your daughter?” The Doctor frowned, “How did that happen?”

“Not this again.” Rory said under his breath.

“Shut up.” Amy hit his chest playfully.

“It’s a long story.” Sarah Jane giggled nervously.

“Sarah? Sarah, who are you talking to?” John called before he stepped out of the flat he went in. He stood in between the Doctor and Sarah Jane. The Doctor’s eyes widened when he saw John. John grinned, “Oh hello.”

“John?” Sarah Jane said softly.

“What is it?” John turned. He could tell the look on Sarah Jane’s face that this was the Doctor. His eyes widened, “Ooh.” He turned to the Doctor, “Ooh.”

“Hello.” The Doctor waved awkwardly.

“Hello.” John said as he pointed to his own face, “Is that what we look like after this one then?”

“Yes. Yes, we got a little younger.” The Doctor nodded before gesturing back to Amy, “This one thinks I look about nine.”

“You’re not wrong.” John laughed with Amy who was very confused. 

“How are you here? You were in the parallel universe with Rose?” The Doctor frowned.

“Crack in the universe?” John raised a brow.

“Oh yes. Of course. Yes, that was us. Well, not us but we fixed it. I’m surprised you were able to stay in this universe.”

“Well, I did a lot of fighting to stay here.”

“And Rose?”

“She stayed. She’s better off there. It was for the best. It would have never worked. My place is here.”

The Doctor watched as Sarah Jane slipped her hand into John’s. John looked at their hands before at Sarah Jane. They smiled and it felt like the Doctor’s hearts were being torn. He remembered how hard it was to let Rose go off with his duplicate but that was his choice and he knew Rose would be happy with that or at least he thought she would be. This was a total surprise (though he knew shouldn’t have been so surprised because if he could, he would have done the same). 

Thankfully for the Doctor, there was suddenly a loud rumble that made them all stumble. They all looked over the small balcony as they noticed the large spaceship that was now before them. They crouched down, looking through the gaps in the balcony. There did not seem to be any movement from below.

“Let me guess,” The Doctor began as he turned to Sarah Jane, “Strange readings on Mr. Smith?”

“Flashing lights, alarms, the lot! You?” Sarah Jane replied.

“Same.” The Doctor nodded.

The two giggled quietly which caught John’s attention. He watched them and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy inside him. John remembered how exciting it was to be the Doctor and he remembered how much Sarah Jane loved him when he was the Doctor or at least he realised it now. John worried sometimes that he wasn’t enough for her and seeing her with the Doctor made it worse.

John’s thoughts were interrupted by robotic voices below. They tried their best to see where the voices were coming from but couldn’t. They even struggled to make out what they were saying.

“Do you know what they are?” Amy asked.

“No but I don’t have a good feeling about this. Not with the size of that ship.” The Doctor replied.

“Mum.” Sky said suddenly.

They all turned when Sky called for Sarah Jane. They noticed a little silver creature before them. A little panel lifted and large teeth appeared. Sarah Jane’s eyes widened, recognising it instantly. 

“That’s a…” Sarah Jane began.

“Cybermat.” John and the Doctor said in unison before looking at each other with confused looks. 

The Cybermat launched itself at Sky, snapping its teeth. John grabbed it as the Doctor started to sonic it. John and the Doctor both dodged the snapping Cybermat. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes before going into the flat she had just been into. She grabbed an old abandoned cricket bat before walking back out.

“Put it down.” Sarah Jane said as she made sure Sky was behind her.

“Almost got it, Smith, don’t worry.” The Doctor reassured.

“‘Smith’? Since when did you start calling her ‘Smith’?” John scrunched up his face.

“It’s cool! Getting called your last name is cool.” The Doctor frowned.

“We call her Sarah. We’ve always called Sarah.” John replied.

“Put the bloody Cybermat down!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as she interrupted the two.

The Doctor and John froze, giving each other dirty looks before John released the Cybermat. The Cybermat was about to attack Sarah Jane but she swung the cricket bat and hit a couple of times until she knew it was dead. She then turned to Sky, checking she was alright whilst John and the Doctor looked at the Cybermat.

“You killed it!” The Doctor scrunched up his face.

“It was going to attack my daughter and after I have been attacked by one too, there was no way I was going to let that happen.” Sarah Jane replied, “I suggest you all get armed. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re all crawling about here.”

“Are you alright?” John asked as everyone else went into the flats to get weapons.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sarah Jane smiled, “Go on, you better get something. I think I saw a broom in there.”

“I’ll be alright.” John grinned before he took out his sonic screwdriver, “I’ve got this. Just need to put it to the right setting.”

Sarah Jane giggled. Sky soon came out and they decided to lead the way. The Doctor, Amy and Rory followed after. Amy and Rory noticed the Doctor wasn’t in the best mood and decided to catch up with him.

“You’re Mr. Grumpy Face today.” Amy nudged the Doctor.

“No, I’m not. I’m very much Mr. Happy Face today.” The Doctor rolled his eyes.

“I’ll crack the jokes.” Amy replied, “Sarah Jane Smith then. Who is she exactly?”

“She used to travel with me when I was in a different body. Not that one.” The Doctor pointed to John, “I didn’t see her for years and then I met up with her again. The last time I saw her was when you two went on your honeymoon.”

“The one that got away then?” Amy asked.

“What? No, not at all.” The Doctor laughed but found himself watching Sarah Jane’s every move. He could tell how happy she was with John and it made his stomach turn. Mostly because he had not expected it at all, “Nothing like that.”

Amy and Rory looked at one another. They knew he was lying. 

“I would hate for River to hear about this. Her husband crushing on an old love.” Amy crossed her arms as she raised her brow.

“Oh don’t go all ‘protective mum’ on me! Besides, River isn’t exactly monogamous.” The Doctor rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, we gathered that. We did grow up with her as Mels.” Rory replied.

“You know Sarah Jane is very like you, Amy. Headstrong, curious, determined, a best friend of mine, constantly waiting.” The Doctor added, “I’m sure you’ll enjoy talking about me to her at some point. You all do.”

“I like her.” Amy announced, “She’s cool. She’s a lot like you too.”

The Doctor looked at Amy but said nothing. He tried to forget how much Sarah Jane had become like him.

“Remember she was on Planet Three?” Rory said, “She’s a journalist. She got fired for some reason.”

“Oh, yeah. Kinda.” Amy nodded, “Planet Three isn’t on anymore, is it?”

“No, got taken off air. There was some court case behind it.” Rory shrugged.

“I bet Sarah Jane was pleased about that.” Amy replied, “What about John then?”

“Yeah, you seemed to recognise him? And what you were saying to him as well?” Rory frowned.

“He is me. Was me. Before I regenerated into this body, I looked like him and when I had regenerated into him, I was in a sword fight, very long story. My hand got cut off and then a good friend had it for a bit. He gave back, I got shot by a Dalek and I was about to regenerate but put all the energy into the hand. Another friend absorbed the energy and he grew from the hand. But he was in a parallel universe with someone who I thought he would be happy with.” The Doctor explained, slowly getting more and more stropier, “Travelling through parallel universes is practically impossible but the crack. The crack must have made it easier. That’s how he’s here now.”

Amy and Rory looked at one another again. He knew John being with Sarah Jane had hurt and shocked him. It was a sticky situation, especially with River being his wife. They wanted to say more but knew it wouldn’t be right. Especially with the way he was acting.

“Are you sure you don’t fancy her a little bit then? I mean a duplicate you in a previous body is living with her and they look pretty cosy.” Amy said, “River might give you another slap like in America.”

“She’s probably had tea with them. You know how River is always ten steps ahead of us.” The Doctor rolled his eyes.

“Who’s River?” Sarah Jane turned around as John and Sky walked further in front. The Doctor’s eyes widened.

“She’s umm…” The Doctor stumbled.

“She’s our daughter.” Amy butted in, “And also his wife.”

Sarah Jane frowned.

“It’s all timey wimey stuff. You know how it is.” The Doctor bumbled on, “I married their grown up daughter. She’s a toddler at this very moment in time. Probably.”

“I was about to say. I thought you had either found some more Time Lords or that you might be committing a crime.” Sarah Jane chuckled before walking beside the Doctor, “You’re married then?”

“Yes. Although we did get married because of an absolute crisis that had to be resolved with us touching so what’s not better than getting married?” The Doctor laughed.

“What’s she like then?” Sarah Jane asked.

“She’s um… she’s a bit of a psychopath. Well, I say a bit.” The Doctor scrunched his face up.

“She was sort of brainwashed to kill him. It’s a very long story.” Rory shook his head.

“Yeah.” Amy bit her lip, aware of Rory’s hand slipping into hers, “Very long story.”

“Oh.” Sarah Jane nodded. She could tell it was a painful subject and didn’t want them to have to tell the story. She looked at the Doctor and smiled, “Have you got a photo of her?”

“Oh, yes.” The Doctor went into his breast pocket and took out a small photo of River. She wore a green dress and had a mass of curls. Sarah Jane thought she was absolutely beautiful.

“She’s… she’s beautiful.” Sarah Jane looked at him, a small smile. Amy and Rory couldn’t totally read Sarah Jane’s reaction and knew there was a lot more to her and the Doctor’s relationship than met the eye.

“What are you talking about?” John walked to them.

“The Doctor’s married.” Sarah Jane giggled, showing John the photo of River, “That’s her. River Song. Is that her real name?”

“She’s called Melody. Melody Pond. Another long story that we can’t really explain.” Amy replied.

“Oohhh. That’s who she is.” John pointed to the picture.

“Yes!” The Doctor nodded, “Not spoilers for you!”

“What?” Sarah Jane frowned as she handed the picture back to the Doctor.

“I met her when I was him. I had no clue who she was but um, yeah. That explains a lot!” John nodded.

“It really does.” The Doctor nodded.

“Oh. Right.” Sarah Jane said quietly before catching up with Sky.

The four watched as Sarah Jane walked away. They could tell that she was a little jealous. John sighed softly, catching up with Sarah Jane and Sky. Amy and Rory decided to not point out the obvious and instead, ask about something else.

“What about Sky? Where does she fit into all of this?” Rory asked.

“I’m not sure about that.” The Doctor’s eyes widened slightly, “That’s something I will need to ask Sarah.”

They continued to walk but heard more rumbles around them. They stopped near an inactive elevator as they looked around. They seemed to hold onto their breaths as they tried to figure out where the rumble had come from. Suddenly, the elevator doors opened and two Cybermen appeared. John was the closest to the door and held up his sonic screwdriver. He was about to sonic them but the Cyberman on the left grabbed him. He seemed to send an electroshock through his body as John was knocked out.

“No!” Sarah Jane exclaimed, “Let him go!”

“Dad!” Sky shouted, totally unaware that she called John ‘Dad’. Amy and Rory pulled her back, making sure she was safe with them.

“He will be upgraded.” The Cyberman announced.

“Let him go now!” Sarah Jane growled as the Doctor held onto her.

“Sarah Jane, wait!” The Doctor said as he grabbed her, pulling her back from the elevator.

The elevator doors started to close and Sarah Jane’s heart beat fast. The doors closed and there was a silence that came over them.


	9. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane, Sky, the Doctor, Amy and Rory all go to find John.

The Doctor slowly let go of Sarah Jane as she stepped forward. Her breath was shaky and they watched as she turned slowly. The Doctor instantly noticed how Sarah Jane was trying not to cry, her eyes bubbling over.

“Sarah?” The Doctor said softly.

“We’re going to find him.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Sarah, wait-.” The Doctor stepped forward.

“I’m going to find him whether you like it or not. I will not let them hurt him.” Sarah Jane pointed before picking up the cricket bat she had dropped, “I’m not losing him again.”

The Doctor watched as she rushed down the stairwell as he thought about what she had said. Did she mean John or him? Did she mean both?

They all soon followed Sarah Jane down the stairs as they all hid behind a wall as they watched the Cybermen around them.

“How are we going to get past them?” Sky asked.

“I don’t know.” The Doctor said before turning to Rory, “Are you sure you don’t carry a Roman sword with you?”

“For the millionth time, no, Doctor.” Rory replied before quietly saying to Amy, “I probably should start that, eh?”

“Maybe with Cybermen, it would be wise.” Amy said as she brushed some dust off her husband’s shoulder.

The area seemed to be cleared of Cybermen. The Cybermen headed to the other flat blocks and left the space in front of their ship clear. They stepped out, checking it wasn’t a trap. When Sarah Jane was satisfied it was not a trap, she headed straight for the Cybership.

“Sarah Jane!” The Doctor called for her, “Oh, she’s going to get us into a lot of trouble!”

“Come on, Doctor.” Amy hit his arm as she followed after Sarah Jane with Rory and Sky.

They got onto the ship, staying vigilant as they walked further into the ship. They tried to find a main control room of some sort but as they walked through the ship, Sky spotted something, or someone.

“Dad!” Sky said as she ran into the room.

Sarah Jane turned when she heard Sky say ‘Dad’. She didn’t hear her say it earlier and it confused her when she said but she knew exactly who she was talking about. They looked into the room as they saw John lying on the floor. Sarah Jane rushed into the room after Sky.

“John!” Sarah Jane shouted, “John!”

A Cyberman stepped out in front of Sarah Jane and Sky, stopping them in their tracks. They raised their hand to shoot at them but Sarah Jane and Sky ducked quickly, the Doctor sonicking the Cyberman as it started to shake and malfunction, soon collapsing to the ground. Whilst all this was happening, two other Cybermen had picked up John and put him into their Cyber conversion machine. Sarah Jane watched what was happening and her stomach dropped. Before she could do anything, Sarah Jane was grabbed by a Cyberman. She looked around, everyone now held by Cybermen.

“Let the conversion begin.” A Cyberman said.

“No! No!” Sarah Jane exclaimed.

John started to slowly wake up as the metal panels of the Cybermen started to press against his chest. He was drowsy but sparks flew and he reacted to the pain, screaming out.

“John, listen to me. You can fight this. You need to feel these emotions. Think of the people we have loved. Think of Susan and Jamie and Jo. Think of Tegan and Nyssa and Adric. Oh poor Adric. Think of Ace! Rose, Martha, Donna! Captain Jack Harkness. Think of your life now as a human, remember how we wanted to live like that at points. Domestic bliss.” The Doctor tried his best to help John. John continued to call out in pain. The Doctor sighed, looking over at Sarah Jane. She watched John’s every move, tears filling up her eyes. The helmet started to close over his face. The Doctor closed his eyes, he felt defeated, “Think of Sarah.”

“Begin full conversion.”

Sarah Jane looked at the Doctor, her eyes filling up with tears. The Doctor knew she had to try and talk to him. She wanted to go up to him but struggled with the very strong grip the Cyberman holding her had.

“John? John, please. You can fight it.” Sarah Jane blinked through her tears, “Think of everything you did to get here. When you came home. Remember our first date and how the kids spied on us. Remember when you forgot your lunch and I had to bring it.” Sarah Jane giggled, “We had our first kiss that day. Who knew a classroom could be so romantic? Remember everything we’ve done together. Think about the kids. Luke and Sky, Clyde, Rani, even Maria. She’d hate for you to be a Cyberman when she comes over next month.”

Alarms started to go off in the ship. They all looked around, lights flashing around them. 

“Alert! Emotional subsystems rebooting.” The Cyberman standing near the conversion machine announced, “This can’t be. This is impossible.”

“Sarah Jane, he can hear you. Keep going. You too, Sky!” The Doctor encouraged.

“Think of school and the chats we have on the way there. Think about how we annoy mum with everything we come home with. I don’t know what dads are like but… I know that you are my dad and you are the best dad.” Sky said. John’s helmet started to unseal. Sky looked at Sarah Jane and grinned. Sarah Jane winked to her, so proud of her, “You can do it! Get out of there.”

Suddenly, sparks flew from the conversion machine as the Cybermen around them started to malfunction. The helmet fully opened, revealing John’s face but he wasn’t totally conscious. The Cyberman holding onto Sarah Jane let go of her and she rushed straight up to John. She did her best to get him out the Cyber armour and helped him out. Sarah Jane held onto him tightly, trying her best to get him to stand up. The other Cybermen let go of the others as they rushed away from them.

“Emergency. Emotional influx.” The Cybermen kept saying as they shook, holding onto their heads, “Overload. Overload.”

“Sarah.” John said softly.

“Don’t speak.” Sarah Jane told him, “It’s alright.”

“Listen to me.” John panted. He looked at her tiredly, “You’re amazing. So amazing. You and Sky.”

“So are you.” Sarah Jane laughed. 

John laughed with her as he cupped her face. The two kissed like it would be their last time. The Doctor, Amy and Rory were bustling around the room as Sky stood near the door. The three turned back to Sarah Jane and John.

“Oh, hurry up! We haven’t got all day.” The Doctor huffed. He then turned to Amy and Rory, “How do they do that and breathe at the same time? Honestly I don’t get it!” He then turned to Sky, “Do they do this a lot?”

Sarah Jane broke off the kiss as she did her best to support John as he stood. She pushed his hair off his forehead as she smiled.

“We need to get out of here.”

The Doctor led the way to the TARDIS, Cybermen starting to explode. As they ran across the estate, they could see Cybermen in the flats also exploding. As Amy shut the door behind her, she just caught a glimpse of the Cyber ship beginning to explode. The Doctor rushed up to the console as he started to man the controls.

“Bannerman Road?” The Doctor raised a brow.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane nodded as she brought John over to the captain’s chair.

“You’ve decorated?” John said weakly, “I don’t like it.”

“Oh, well excuse me.” The Doctor put his hands on his hips.

“Doctor.” Amy warned before she walked over to Sky, “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Sky nodded.

“You did good today. You’re so strong, Sky.” Amy smiled.

“Thank you.” Sky replied, “I think I get that from my mum.”

Amy looked over Sky’s head at Sarah Jane who sat with John. She smiled, looking back at Sky.

“I think you do too.”

Sky smiled at Amy before walking over to Sarah Jane and John. John grinned when he saw her, giving her a big cuddle.

“Oh, Sky! You were brilliant today! Absolutely brilliant.” John hugged Sky tightly.

“I called you ‘dad’ earlier. Was that bad?” Sky looked at him, an extremely worried look on her face.

“No! Not at all.” John shook his head, “You can call me what you like.” Sky hugged him again, “I’d be so happy if you called me ‘dad’.”

Sarah Jane smiled as she watched the two hug. She couldn’t describe how happy she felt watching the two. They broke off the hug as they smiled at Sarah Jane. The Doctor watched as Sky and John brought Sarah Jane into their group hug. He could see how happy they were and he was happy for them but it was hard to not see himself in John.

\- - -

Luke and Sanjay played at the football table, laughing as they talked. Rani sat at her desk behind them as she was finishing up her essay.

“Right,” Clyde walked into the room with a tray of food and drinks for them, “Here’s your coffee.”

“Thanks mate.” Sanjay said.

“Thanks.” Luke nodded.

“And here’s your coffee.” Clyde put the mug down for Rani.

“Thank you.” Rani smiled.

“How are you getting on?” Clyde asked as he rested his hand on the back of her chair.

“I’m just finishing… now!” Rani typed before turning to Clyde with a grin, relaxing into her chair, “That’s me done for the weekend. I’m ready for relaxing with my friends and maybe running around after some aliens.”

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be eventful.” Clyde gestured to Luke and Sanjay behind them before winning to Rani. The two laughed when they suddenly heard a whooshing sound.

“Temporal flux escalating.” Mr. Smith announced.

“Escalating temporal flux.” K-9 also announced.

“What is that?” Sanjay asked.

“It’s the TARDIS.” Luke said, his eyes wide, “It’s the TARDIS!”

The door opened and Sky stepped out. She grinned as she saw her brother, his boyfriend and their friends.

“Luke!” Sky grinned.

“Sky.” Luke said, almost being tackled by his little sister, “Where’s mum?”

“She’s just coming out. Dad’s coming out too.” Sky pointed.

“Dad?” Luke frowned as he looked up, “Mum?”

“Oh, Luke!” Sarah Jane grinned as she greeted her son. She hugged him tightly, “How are you? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Sky said ‘dad’?” Luke replied.

“Long story.” Sarah Jane shook her head before going over to Sanjay, Clyde and Rani, “Hello!”

John came out of the TARDIS, the Doctor, Amy and Rory following after them. John greeted the others too whilst the Doctor came down the stairs slowly. He felt himself become slightly intimidated by his surroundings. Amy and Rory looked around the attic, totally in awe of the room.

“Doctor.” Rani grinned.

“Rani Chandra! Clyde Langer!” The Doctor pointed to them as he laughed. He hugged the two before turning to Luke, “Lukey boy!”

“Hello, Doctor.” Luke laughed as he hugged the Doctor.

“It is good to see you! You haven’t changed a bit.” The Doctor grinned. He turned to Sanjay, “Hello, I’m the Doctor.”

“Sanjay.” Sanjay shook his hand.

“He’s my boyfriend.” Luke gestured to Sanjay.

“Oh really? Well, how lovely.” The Doctor grinned.

“Wow.” Amy looked around, “This is…”

“Insane.” Rory said. The couple looked at each other as they laughed.

“You two alright?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re good.” Rory nodded.

“Is this really your attic?” Amy asked.

“Yep. This is where the magic happens.” Sarah Jane giggled.

“This is better than the TARDIS.” Amy looked around herself.

“I heard that!” The Doctor butted in.

“Oh shut up.” Amy rolled her eyes.

Sarah Jane giggled. She turned when Sky came up to them.

“Sky, why don’t you introduce Amy and Rory to everyone? I’m gonna go downstairs and make some tea.” Sarah Jane said.

“Okay.” Sky nodded.

“You want any help?” Amy asked.

“No no, I’ll manage.” Sarah Jane winked.

“No tea for us, Sarah Jane.” Sanjay gestured to the tea they had.

“Okay.” Sarah Jane nodded.

Sarah Jane headed downstairs to the kitchen. John noticed her leaving the attic and decided to follow after her. He left the attic, walking downstairs as he met her at the bottom.

“What you doing?” John asked.

“I was going to make some tea. Shouldn’t you be resting?” Sarah Jane turned to him.

“I was gonna help.” John put his hands in his pockets. He pulled a puppy dog look, “Am I being sent to bed early?”

“Come on.” Sarah Jane giggled.

They headed into the kitchen as Sarah Jane began the tea. John walked around the kitchen, his hands in his pockets. Sarah Jane could sense there was something bothering him.

“You don’t have to help you know? You can go to bed.” Sarah Jane said, “You deserve a rest.”

“No, no. It’s alright. I’m not tired.” John rubbed his forehead.

“Then what’s the matter?” Sarah Jane asked as she crossed her arms.

John sighed. He took his hands out of his pockets as he stopped for a moment to collect his thoughts. He finally looked up at Sarah Jane.

“Shall we get married?” John asked softly.

Sarah Jane looked at him. Her eyes were wide, her mouth dropped open slightly.

“Are you serious?” She nervously giggled.

“Well, it’s just that he’s got married. Wouldn’t it be good for us? I mean I always wanted that life when I was him. If he can have it, can’t I?” John replied. He cleared his throat as he watched Sarah Jane. He then turned to away, “It’s stupid I know. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No. John, wait.” She grabbed his hand as she turned him back to her. She smiled up at him, “You deserve to have that if that is what you want and I would love to be married to you but are you sure you want to? I mean do you really want to marry me or is it just because he’s married that you feel you should be too?”

“Of course I want to marry you. I want nothing more than to marry you.” John sighed as he held her hands, “I love you so much, Sarah. I always have. Both now and then, when I was him. I can’t think of anything better than having you as my wife and being your husband. I just felt like it was maybe the right time to ask after hearing him say he was married. It felt like it was time for me to ask you.”

Sarah Jane looked down at his hands in hers. She rubbed the back of his hands with her thumbs before she looked up.

“I understand.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I think we might be rushing though.”

“What do you mean?” John asked.

“We’ve only been together for a few months. I think maybe we should give it a little while. You never know, you might want to go somewhere else. Travel around the world.” Sarah Jane teased.

“Only with you by my side. No one else.” He squeezed her hands.

Sarah Jane smiled as she studied his face. She stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek softly. She looked at him once more.

“Maybe we should wait a little while.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

John nodded. Slowly, a smile crept onto his face. Sarah Jane didn’t expect his smile but was a little taken aback by him cupping her cheek and kissing her softly on the lips. They broke off the kiss as they looked at each other.

“I could have lost you today.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

“But you didn’t.” John stroked her cheek gently, “I’m still here. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Sarah Jane giggled as she bowed her head. She looked back, studying his face intently.

“Thank you.” John said softly, “I don’t know where I would be without you. At all. You are just brilliant. My Sarah Jane.”

They kissed again. They held each other closer, kissing for a couple of seconds. Their worries seemed to melt away in that moment and it was just them. They may have not been married like John would like but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He wouldn’t have her any other way. Life was perfect. Until the kettle started to boil.

“Oh.” Sarah Jane broke off the kiss, “I better get those teas sorted.”

John giggled before turning away from the bunker. They soon headed back upstairs as they talked quietly. They joined the others as they gave everyone their teas and coffees. The Doctor and John watched Sarah Jane and Amy as they sat on the leather couch. They roared with laughter as they talked. John and the Doctor looked at each other, they knew they were talking about them. Rory sat near them, occasionally butting into the conversation before going back to talking with Luke and Rani who were showing him K-9. Rory then came down the steps to the two men, putting his empty mug on the table near them.

“They’re talking about us, aren’t they?” The Doctor asked.

“Hm? What?” Rory frowned.

“Sarah and Amy,” John pointed, “They’re talking about us?”

“Oh. Uh, yeah. Yeah they are.” Rory nodded.

“Knew it.” John and the Doctor sighed.

“Don’t worry, they’re not saying anything bad. Anymore anyways.” Rory replied.

The Doctor and John looked at him with a slight dirty look.

Later on, the Doctor, Amy and Rory decided it was time to leave. Amy and Sarah Jane hugged, exchanging numbers and guaranteeing each other that they would meet up when Amy and Rory were back home. Everyone else bid them farewell until it came to Sarah Jane and the Doctor. 

“Well then.” The Doctor rubbed his hands together, “I better get going.”

“Yes.” Sarah Jane nodded, “It’s been good to see you. Brilliant.”

“It has. So brilliant.” The Doctor replied.

Sarah Jane smiled at him as she hugged him. They held one another tightly, the Doctor taking in the scent of her hair as he closed his eyes.

“Until next time, Sarah.” The Doctor whispered so only she could hear.

They broke off the hug as they stood back slightly. Sarah Jane smiled at him, her hands raising to his bow tie as she straightened it for him before brushing some dirt off his shoulder. She winked at him, knowing it was time for him to go. Sarah Jane stepped back as she stood next to John. The Doctor headed to the TARDIS doors, opening one of them before looking back to them.

“You take care of her.” The Doctor pointed to John.

“We both know she’s the one taking care of me.” John chuckled.

“Absolutely!” The Doctor laughed as he pointed to John. He then turned back to them, “I’ll see you all soon. Don’t think I won’t?”

“Goodbye, Doctor.”

“Goodbye, Sarah.”

As he was going into the TARDIS, the Doctor caught a glimpse of Sarah Jane taking John’s hand. When she took his hand, John looked at Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane smiled, giving his hand a little squeeze. Together, they all watched as the TARDIS disappeared from the attic.

“Right,” Sarah Jane said as she turned to the others, “Shall we get dinner on?”

“We’ll do that.” Clyde grabbed Rani’s hand.

“Yeah, we’re not letting you cook on your own!” Rani laughed as Clyde guided her out.

“Will you need any help, Sarah Jane? Anything at all.” Sanjay asked.

“Let’s see what we can do.” Sarah Jane giggled, putting her arm around him. The two walked out, smiling back at John before leaving the attic.

Sky was picking up some of the mugs before putting them on the tray. Luke was talking to K-9 quietly as John looked around the attic. He looked at the siblings and he knew he had to talk to them.

“Do you mind if I talk to you both?” John asked.

“No.” Luke shook his head, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes. Yes, everything’s fine.” John nodded, his hands in his pockets as he looked down to his Converses. He cleared his throat, “I just wanted to discuss something with you both. About today. Something Sky said earlier.”

Sky knew it was about her calling him ‘dad’. She started to bite her lip nervously. Had he changed his mind about earlier? Her stomach was now turning to knot She knew she was better to let him continue. 

“When your mum and Sky were trying to stop the Cyber conversion, Sky called me ‘dad’. We then talked about her calling me ‘dad’ and I’m more than happy to let her call me that. Now, I want to talk to you about this because I don’t want you to feel obligated to call me that. I would be more than happy if you want to call me that and I would be happy if you don’t. I want you to be comfortable with whatever you want to call me and how you see me as your dad or just your mum’s…” John said before being interrupted by Luke. He felt quite nervous bringing this up to Luke. He didn’t want to force Luke to do anything he didn’t want to, especially not living at home with himself, Sarah Jane and Sky. 

“I would love to call you ‘dad’. You are my dad.” Luke nodded, “If I had to pick someone to be my dad, it would be you. Always.”

“Really?” John asked. He couldn’t believe it.

“Of course.” Luke laughed, “You were the only one for mum, you were the only one for me too.”

John started to laugh. He was speechless. He decided to put his arm around Luke.

“Come on, your mum will be wondering where we are.” John smiled.

Luke and Sky giggled as they headed towards the door.

“Master?” K-9 said.

“Come on, boy!” John turned to the dog. He opened the door, encouraging the metallic mutt as though he was a really dog, “Come on.”


	10. Stuck With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane and John get teleported to another planet at the worst time.

Sarah Jane stomped down the steps as she pulled her blazer over her blue silk shirt. She huffed, totally ignoring John and his words behind her.

“Sarah, come on.” John followed her down the stairs.

“I’m not listening.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she grabbed her bag.

“I didn’t mean it!” John tried. Sarah Jane almost bumped into him when she turned around. She then headed to the attic stairs, “Oh, Sarah!”

“Don’t ‘Sarah’ me! You know what you did.” Sarah Jane pointed before stomping up the stairs.

“And I’m sorry. I’ve said ‘sorry’ approximately forty-three times today! Forty-five!” John huffed. He followed her to the attic, “Sarah Jane!”

Sarah Jane burst into the attic, walking towards her computer. Sky and Luke sat on the couch, both pretending to be reading books. They then noticed John following after her and knew this wasn’t good. They had been arguing all morning and they knew they were going to continue in here.

“Sarah Jane, please. Please just listen to me.” John walked over to her.

“I am not listening to anything you say. Everything you have to say is not going to change my mind.” Sarah Jane lifted her hands up.

“I didn’t mean it!” John exclaimed, “He got out! I couldn’t stop him from running away.”

“You let a Travast Polong go loose around the school! You don’t know how lucky you are that he reached Bannerman Road and I was watering the flowers.” Sarah Jane replied.

“And I am sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Forty-nine now, are we trying to break a record?” John huffed.

“Maybe if you get a hundred, I’ll consider it.” Sarah Jane turned back to her desk. She started to fill her bag with things she needed. She shook her head as she spoke, “You know, I asked you one simple thing. One simple thing! ‘Keep that Travast Polong in your classroom, out of sight, out of mind and then bring it back home’. I know you have that cupboard in your classroom. I understand it would have been a little difficult with all the test tubes and chemicals in the cupboard but no! You had to have it running laps around the classroom.”

“I had a free period at the end of the day. I thought it was best if I just left him to it until the bell and then I could get him sorted. I didn’t expect Louise to come to the door and ask for a bloody textbook!” John defended himself.

“Oh, let’s bring Louise into it.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“Don’t start this now! You know I don’t even like her.”

“It didn’t seem like that at that teachers do!”

“I was being nice.”

“Yeah, very nice!”

“Who’s Louise?” Luke asked Sky.

“Mrs. Coleman.” Sky replied.

“Oh, yeah.” Luke nodded, “And mum thinks dad’s having an affair with her?”

“I think she thinks he fancies her.” Sky shrugged, “They were bickering for ages when they came home that night.”

“Why?”

“Dad said she slipped and he helped her up. Mum said she threw herself into dad’s arms and he held on for ‘too long’.”

“Oh, it’s going to be a long day.”

They looked at Sarah Jane and John who argued more and more. Luke and Sky huffed.

“Sarah Jane, something has locked onto the attic.” Mr. Smith announced.

“Leave it.” Sarah Jane brushed him off before continuing to argue with John.

“Mum, maybe we should look at this.” Luke said as he stood. He looked at Mr. Smith’s screen, knowing this didn’t look good.

“Leave it.” Sarah Jane repeated.

“Locking on…” K-9 announced.

“Dad, you need to see this.” Sky said.

“Give me a minute.” John waved his hand.

“Sarah Jane, a teleport beam is locking on.” Mr. Smith announced.

“Mum!”

“Dad!”

“What?!” Sarah Jane and John exclaimed at the same time.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in the attic. Luke and Sky covered their eyes as they stayed close to each other. When the lights disappeared, they looked around the attic. Sarah Jane and John were gone.

\- - -

Sarah Jane woke up as she picked herself up from the ground. She looked around herself and noticed that she wasn’t in the attic or even on Earth. She stood up quickly, breathing deeply as she started to panic. She seemed to be in some sort of wasteland. The skies were an orange colour and the sand was a similar colour. The land seemed to go on for miles and Sarah Jane instantly felt alone again

“Oh no.” She heard from behind her. Sarah Jane turned to see John. Sarah Jane felt her heart grow as she saw him but she wouldn’t admit that, at least not right now. He was picking himself up from the ground, his hands on his head, “Oh no.”

“What is it? Where are we?” Sarah Jane walked up to him.

“Remember how I helped that Joak family get home?”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, I think I accidentally left the coordinates on that teleport I made and Mr. Smith locked on. There’s the teleport beam that can pass through and it must have locked onto us. The teleport was on your desk.” John said nervously.

Sarah Jane could feel the rage building up in her. She was already angry with him after what happened yesterday. John could see the anger building in her and his eyes widened. He knew he had to run.

“I can’t believe you!” Sarah Jane shouted as she chased after him.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen! I didn’t know that would happen!” John tried as Sarah Jane started to hit his arms, “Ow, Sarah!”

“You can be so reckless. I can’t bloody believe you! How are we going to get home?” Sarah Jane said.

“We’ll find a way. I promise. I promise, we’ll get home.” John walked up to her. He tried to grab her hand, “Sarah, I’m sorry. I am. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Sarah Jane said nothing as she snatched her hand away from him. John’s heart felt like it had been torn in two. He watched as she started to walk away. He knew he had to catch up with her and make sure she was alright.

“Sarah? Sarah Jane?” John started to jog after her, “Sarah, wait. Where are you going?”

“I am going for a walk, alright?” Sarah Jane snapped around.

“Then I’m coming with you.” John followed after her.

“Am I not allowed to have a moment to myself?” Sarah Jane turned again.

“You might get lost. Remember I always tell you to not wander off.” John tried to add a little light to the situation.

“You could have told the same to that Travast Polong.” Sarah Jane muttered.

“Sarah…” 

“No. Let me just have a moment. I need to be on my own.”

Sarah Jane started to walk away. John watched as she walked further and further. He wanted to shout for her, bring her into his arms and take her back home. But he couldn’t. Not this time. He couldn’t simply just take her and put her into a time machine disguised as a blue police box and go home. It wasn’t that easy for them. They were stranded.

John pulled his mobile out of his breast pocket and sat on a large piece of metal. He dialled a number and held it to his phone.

“Dad?” Luke said down the phone, totally surprised to hear him, “What happened? Where are you?”

“I think I am on the planet, Janorox. Might have something to do with that Joak family I helped last week.” John replied.

“How have you got signal?” Luke asked.

“Programmed my mobile to have signal anywhere. I can call from anywhere in time and space. I did on your mum’s phone too. Remind me to sort all your phones out when I get home.” John replied.

“Where is mum? Is she alright? Is she with you?”

“Yeah, she’s with me. Well, sort of. She’s just gone off in a strop. She’s not exactly in the best mood with me. It really is reminding me of the old days when I was still a Time Lord.”

“Well, I knew that.”

“It’s worse now.”

“Oh. Good luck.”

“Thanks. You better call your mum, especially to remind her to call her work to say she won’t be doing her interview today.”

“They were already a step ahead. They cancelled just after you disappeared.”

“Well then. How ideal. Listen, I’m gonna have a look about and try and find a way to get us home. Don’t stray too far from the phone.”

“I won’t.”

“Thatta boy. I better go look for your mum and apologise then.”

“Be careful, dad.”

“I’m always careful, Lukey boy.” And with that, John hung up.

\- - -

Sarah Jane huffed as she walked. She was so annoyed with everything that had happened that morning and this wasn’t making it better at all. Sarah Jane wanted so badly to go back to John and make up but she was just so angry. She just needed five minutes to herself to at least think things over. She started to get out of breath as walked up the now steep hills of sand. She wasn’t sure when they had become sand but she just assumed that she didn’t fully notice them. 

Sarah Jane sat down slowly as she looked up to the orange sky. There were two suns in the sky and she couldn’t deny that she was happy to be exploring another planet. There was nothing else around her and she decided to take out her phone. Sarah Jane frowned when she saw the full four bars but decided to go into something more personal. She went into her photos and looked at the photos from home. Sarah Jane giggled softly to herself, looking at pictures of the kids and herself. A photo of her and John then came up. The two laughed as they looked at each other as they sat in the Chandra garden. She remembered that this was from a barbecue Gita and Haresh invited them to. She smiled to herself as she thought about how happy they were that day. They seemed to be having a rough patch at the moment. Sarah Jane wasn’t sure if it was just their honeymoon phase ending or something more but they seemed to be arguing a lot more than normal. She would bicker a lot with the Doctor and she remembered that but this seemed more than just bickering.

Sarah Jane was immediately brought out of her thoughts when she heard something move in the distance. She assumed it was either John catching up with her or an animal nearby. She looked around but couldn’t see anything. She sighed, going back to her phone. There then was another sound and now Sarah Jane stood up. She looked around herself, trying to figure out who or what was there. The land seemed to be empty. She couldn’t even see John from where she was standing. 

A laser flew past her head as she ducked. Sarah Jane yelped before looking around herself. She then noticed the Sontaran standing near her. The alien laughed, holding a gun up at her. She knew she had to run. Sarah Jane ran down the hill, doing her best to dodge the lasers. She almost tripped coming down the hill but managed to make it down. As she ran, Sarah Jane suddenly felt herself starting to lower into the sand. She started to panic, trying her best to move faster with the sand slowly engulfing her. More lasers were shot by her but finally, she managed to get out of the sand. Sarah Jane ran as fast she could, keeping an eye on the Sontaran behind her when she bumped into something.

Sarah Jane turned quickly to see John standing in front of her. He seemed relieved to see her. He was probably thinking she came back to forgive him but he could sense the urgency on her face. Something was wrong.

“Are you alright?” John asked.

“We need to get out of here.” Sarah Jane said, “There was a Sontaran chasing me just there.”

“A Sontaran?” John’s eyes widened.

“Yes! He was right behind…” Sarah Jane turned. The Sontaran was nowhere to be seen. She thought that he could be hiding but it was very difficult to hide in these parts. Sarah Jane frowned, “He was right there. I swear I saw one.”

“Maybe it’s best we stay here. This is where we landed so this is home for now.” John said.

Sarah Jane just nodded. She went over to a large rock, sitting on it as she sighed. She pulled out her phone, deciding she probably should call her boss and say she can’t make her interview.

“You don’t know need to call James. Luke said he called saying that they had to cancel anyway.” John said from where he was standing.

“You’ve heard from Luke?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah, I called him. They’re trying to figure out how to get us back home.” John shook his phone in his hand, “Universal roaming. Can call anywhere in time and space. Your phone has it too.”

“I did wonder why I had perfect signal on an alien planet.” Sarah Jane looked down at her phone before putting it in her pocket, “Is that what you were doing with my phone the other week?”

“Yeah. Make sure that if these sort of things happen, at least we have some sort of communication. I’m gonna do the kids’ phones when we get back.”

“If we get back.”

John ignored her little dig. He sighed softly, deciding to think about something else.

“Did you get that Travast Polong back home?”

John asked. He knew he was already going to start another argument as soon as he opened his mouth. 

“Yes. You would know that if you weren’t too busy focusing on Louise.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I wasn’t focusing on Louise. I actually ran out the classroom and didn’t even give her a second look when I noticed he was gone.”

“Yeah, I bet you didn’t.”

“I don’t understand why she annoys you so much. Louise is actually alright. She’s done nothing wrong!”

“Yeah, I bet she’s really ‘alright’. She’s blonde eh?”

“What is the matter with you? I don’t know why you think I would be with anyone but you. I wouldn’t even entertain the idea.”

“Maybe it’s because you left me in Aberdeen and went off gallivanting with some other girl. Several in fact!”

“I had to. He had to! We both did. We couldn’t let you come to Gallifrey because it was dangerous and humans weren’t allowed. They would have taken you away from me. Hurt you, made you forget me.”

“You could have come back.”

“I did! You know I did.”

“We met by chance! You didn’t come back for me. You totally forget me! You were too busy with Rose.”

“And who am I with now? Because it looks like to me that I am with you and not her. You are the one I love.”

“You went to her first.” Sarah Jane said through gritted teeth.

“Because he made me! You heard him talking to Donna about it!” John shouted, “If I was able to choose, I would have gone with you and so would he! We were both so stupid to see that, especially him.”

“Oh, blame it on the Time Lord!” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“Because it was his fault! By the time I turned around on the TARDIS, you were gone and we were in the parallel universe on bloody Bad Wolf Bay!” John shouted, “Can you even blame me? Especially with the way you look at him still.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sarah Jane looked at him.

“You know what it means. I can tell you’re still in love with him. I’m merely a stand in.” 

“How dare you! A ‘stand in’? Are you serious? You know very well that I am in love with you. Not him. You are different.” Sarah Jane’s heart was beating fast in her chest. She was so angry and hurt. How could he think that?

“Yeah, I’m different alright. I’m the incarnation before him. Still not the Doctor though.” John mumbled.

“John, seriously? You think I would pick the Doctor over you?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Well, you seem to think I’ll pick any blonde woman that looks at me over you so yes I do.” John’s eyes widened. He felt defeated. He sighed, sitting down on a piece of metal near him as he held his hands over his face. He then sighed again, “What is this all about, Sarah? I don’t understand. I would never hurt you.”

“I spent my whole life waiting for you. My whole life, I thought you were going to come back and we’d go off together. But you didn’t and I was convinced you were dead.” Sarah Jane replied. Her eyes stung from trying to stop the tears. She couldn’t look at him or she would start sobbing.

“You’re scared to lose me, that’s it?” John asked.

“Yes, it is.” Sarah Jane said in a snappy tone as she looked up at him. She bit her lip, letting herself calm down, “Losing you, the kids. They scare me the most. Not the things I’ve seen, the things that have tried to kill me or take over Earth. It’s losing you. Not the Doctor. You.”

John wanted to go over to her and hold her. He knew she was upset and he hated that it was his fault. It was his fault. So many things could have been prevented if he came back when he was the Doctor. They could have travelled together. Life would be different for them and he knew that deep down, she wanted that but he couldn’t dwell on that now. He couldn’t go back. Suddenly John heard a strange noise nearby. He frowned as he shot up. Sarah Jane looked up at him, wondering if he heard the Sontaran too. She stood slowly, looking around her surroundings. 

“Sarah Jane?”

“Yeah?”

“Get ready to run.”

Sarah Jane’s heart was now thudding hard in her chest. Almost instantly, Uvodni soldiers appeared. They shot at Sarah Jane and John and John pushed her off, making her go.

“Go! I’ll catch up with you!” John shouted as he took out his sonic screwdriver.

“What are you going to do?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Give them a distraction.” John replied, occasionally ducking as he was sorting the settings of his sonic, “Sarah, go!”

Sarah Jane didn’t want to leave him but she knew she had to run. She ran in the opposite direction. She ran as fast as she could, suddenly finding herself in a large field. Sarah Jane looked around herself, so confused by the environment she was now in. It was totally different to what she landed in. Sarah Jane tried to get her breath back, slowly walking through the grass. She kept turning back, hoping John would soon run up after her. As she continued to walk, Sarah Jane suddenly heard a strange noise. A sort of robotic noise. Sarah Jane turned slowly and her heart immediately felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. It was a Dalek.

“Exterminate!” The Dalek shrieked, “Exterminate!”

“I surrender. I surrender!” Sarah Jane shouted as she held her hands up. 

“Exterminate! Exterminate!” The Dalek persisted.

Sarah Jane knew the Dalek was going to shoot her. She quickly ducked with a yelp as the Dalek missed her, holding her head in her hands. She noticed the Dalek start to glitch and then suddenly, it was gone. She stood up slowly, unsure of what to say. She then turned around to see John jogging up to her, his sonic screwdriver in his hand. John immediately took her into his arms, knowing how relieved she was to be alive. Sarah Jane started to cry as she held him close. John stroked her hair, kissing her head.

“It’s alright. It’s alright, shh.” John soothed before he cupped her face and made her look at him, “Listen to me, it’s not real. None of it was real. I don’t know what’s happening but they’re all holograms of some sort.”

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane asked, “The Sontaran and the Uvodni and the… they’re all fake?”

“Yes. Even the surroundings too.” John said, “All of it.”

Almost on cue, John’s phone started ringing. John answered the phone as he broke off the embrace with Sarah Jane but still held her hand. Sarah Jane turned her head as she wiped her face.

“Lukey boy! Please tell me you have some good news.” John said as he put the phone on speaker.

“Mr. Smith has been telling us about the planet. He says that the planet has parts where the planet plays tricks on you. It sort of hacks into your mind and plays on your fears.” Luke explained.

“Oh, I should have known.” John rubbed his forehead, “They use it to train as soldiers.”

“There’s no reason as to why the planet does it but it’s helped the Joaks become some of the strongest warriors in the galaxy.” Mr. Smith said through the phone.

“And how do we get home?” Sarah Jane asked.

“We’re trying to find the right signals to the planet. Mr. Smith says that if he and K-9 can reach the planet then he can connect to the sound waves of your sonics and get you back home that way.” Sky replied.

“Oh they’re good! They are good.” John laughed, “Are we able to do it now?”

“Mr. Smith is still searching for the right coordinates. We’ll call you as soon as we can.” Luke said.

“Right. I’m sure your mum and I will enjoy a little walk. I’ll leave you to it.” John hung up before turning to Sarah Jane, “What’s that look for?”

“A walk? I am not dressed for this. You’re not either!” Sarah Jane gestured to her black pantsuit.

“You didn’t say that when you went off in your strop?” John raised a brow.

“Well, that’s different.” Sarah Jane crossed her arms, trying not to laugh.

“Come on.” John started to chuckle before putting his arm around her, “We’re best to have a walk about and see the sights.”

“Oh yeah. I bet we’ll see loads.” Sarah Jane teased.

John pushed her gently, making Sarah Jane laugh. She pushed him back as he laughed. They continued to tease each other as they walked when suddenly, the heavens seemed to open up and rain shot down on them. The skies started to get darker and it was now close to nighttime. Sarah Jane took off her blazer jacket and put it over her head.

“Surely, there’s some sort of cave nearby.” John said as he took her hand and ran through the rain.

They continued to run through the fields. They held onto each other’s hand, never letting go. There seemed to not be any caves or other types of shelter around them. They continued to walk through the rain when Sarah Jane spotted something in the distance.

“John. Look!” Sarah Jane pointed.

“Is that… is that a bothy?” John frowned. There was a small guesthouse in the distance and they were both surprised to see it, “Come on, let’s head over to it.”

“But wait, what if it’s a trap?” Sarah Jane grabbed his arm.

“The planet doesn’t only play on your fears. It can give you what you need too.” John said. He took her hand and led her over to the bothy.

They rushed into the bothy quickly, turning on the lights as Sarah Jane hung up her blazer and John’s blazer. John started up a fire in the fireplace as Sarah Jane rubbed her hands together. 

“You okay?” John asked as he stood.

“Just cold.” Sarah Jane continued to rub her hands together. Sarah Jane started to suck her fingertips as she tried to heat herself up. John smiled as he noticed her hair becoming more wavy.

“Come over here.” John brought her over to the fire. There was a little couch in front of the fire and John let her sit there. He picked up a blanket that was left on an armchair as he unfolded it and draped over Sarah Jane’s shoulders, “This should heat you up.”

“Thank you. Oh, John, you’re absolutely soaked.” Sarah Jane turned to him. She cupped his face, “Your shirt’s soaked right through.”

“It’s alright. It’ll dry. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” John winked as he undid his two top buttons before turning to the kitchen, “I’m gonna look around and see if we have any tea around here.”

“On an alien planet?” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“We’re in a bothy.” John replied.

“Oh yeah.” Sarah Jane giggled.

John managed to find tea for them and made some. He came over to Sarah Jane, giving her the cup of tea as he looked out the window.

“Ooh, that’s lovely. Thank you.” Sarah Jane took the cup of tea, blowing the beveridge gently.

“It’s really dark now. I think the days are shorter here.” John joined her on the couch. He took a sip of his tea, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Are you alright?” Sarah Jane looked at him.

“I’m okay. I’m always okay.” John smiled.

Sarah Jane smiled at him. She took another sip of her tea before resting her head on his shoulder. John looked at her as she rested her head on his shoulder and he smiled. Though they hadn’t fully discussed their argument earlier, John felt they didn’t need to. At least not right now. Right now, he was so happy to have her with him. He kissed her head softly as they sat in front of the fire. Sarah Jane felt so much better with him there. She could feel everything she experienced today, both on Janorax and Earth, seemed to disappear and she felt herself relax more and more as she cuddled into John. Sarah Jane felt herself start to doze off and John was aware of when she slightly slumped against his shoulder. He smiled to himself, taking her mug from her hands and putting it on the table. They sat for half an hour or so before John’s phone started to ring. As he answered it, Sarah Jane woke up slowly.

“Hello?” John answered.

“We’re ready.” Luke said.

“You’re able to get us home?” John asked.

“Yeah. Mr. Smith has found your coordinates and K-9 has locked onto him. All you need to do is hold your sonics to the sky. When you activate them, we’ll be able to lock on and get you home.” Luke replied, “We need to know when you activate them so stay on the phone.”

“Right.” John nodded as he got up.

“What is it?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Luke’s telling me they’re able to get us home. We need to go outside.” John put on his blazer.

“But it’s raining.” Sarah Jane shot up, “We’ll be absolutely soaked.”

John opened the door and the sun was splitting the sky. They both had to squint their eyes to protect their eyes from the sunlight. Sarah Jane pulled her blazer over her shoulders as she followed John out to the large fields. 

“Luke, tell me what we’ve got to do.” John said.

“Mr. Smith says to hold your sonics to the sky and activate them. We’ll be able to read the sonic waves and then we’ll lock on.” Luke explained as both Sarah Jane and John got out their sonics, “Once we lock on, we’ll be able to get you home.”

“Right,” John held up his sonic screwdriver to the sky. He smiled at Sarah Jane who held up her sonic lipstick, her other arm around his waist, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Luke, we’re coming home.” John announced down the phone before him and Sarah Jane activated their sonics. 

They watched as the sonic waves floated through the air, the harsh sound of their sonic devices filling the air. They waited a couple of seconds, thinking it wasn’t going to work but then they could feel themselves starting to disappear. The sensation of the teleport was like a rollercoaster and the couple started to yell, the loud sound of the sonic disruption also making them yell out in pain. When they found themselves in the attic, they fell to the ground with an ‘oomph’, toppling down on top of each other. They both sat up but were tackled by Sky and Luke coming to hug them.

“You two are brilliant!” John exclaimed, “Absolutely brilliant!”

“Are you okay? What happened?” Luke asked.

“Well, let’s just say we did a lot of running.” Sarah Jane giggled as she looked at John who laughed too.

“Yes. A lot of running.” John nodded.

“And are you both alright now? No more arguing?” Sky raised a brow.

Sarah Jane and John looked at each other. Sky was always so direct with them and they didn’t expect that question. They looked at one another and they knew that they were both sorry about earlier.

“No more arguing.” Sarah Jane smiled, “Come on, we need to get up. We’re going to be all dirty.”

“Welcome back, Mistress.” K-9 came over to her.

“Thank you, K-9.” Sarah Jane kissed the metal dog’s head, “And thank you to you and Mr. Smith for getting us home.”

“It’s our pleasure, Sarah Jane. Even though the dog was insufferable.” Mr. Smith said. If he could have rolled his eyes, he would.

Sarah Jane simply giggled.

“What time is it?” John frowned.

“Just after one.” Luke checked his watch.

“Oh, perfect! How about we go for lunch? My treat.” John grinned.

“Yes please!” Sky jumped up and down.

“Let’s go then!” John laughed.

Sky and Luke headed to the doors, Sarah Jane following after them. She smiled as she looked back at John behind her. John smiled back, following after her as they headed downstairs.

\- - -

Later on, John and Sarah Jane were getting ready for bed. They had gone for lunch and it seemed that the rest of the day, the kids would not leave their side. Sarah Jane unbuttoned her satin shirt and took it off, putting it into the laundry bag next to the en suite bathroom door. John came out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth. He wore a red t-shirt and blue pyjama bottoms and he ruffled his hair slightly as he yawned. He noticed Sarah Jane’s back to him, only her bra and black slightly flared trousers. He kissed her bare shoulder softly as he then headed over to the bed, pulling back the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“You alright?” John asked, putting down his reading glasses on the side.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded quietly as she undid her trousers and pulled them off her legs.

John could tell there was something wrong. He was about to ask but Sarah Jane was already in the bathroom when he went to ask. He decided he would wait until she was properly settled and ready for bed to ask again. He waited a few minutes until Sarah Jane came out of the bathroom in a pink vest top and white pyjama bottoms. She turned off the light in the bathroom as she brushed her hair.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” John asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m just tired.” Sarah Jane replied, her back to him as she continued to brush her hair.

“You can tell me, you know. I don’t want you to bottle things up.” John said, “I can tell something’s wrong.”

Sarah Jane turned slowly as she put down her hairbrush on the side. She walked over to him, playing with her fingers before she finally looked at John.

“I’m sorry. About today. I overreacted and though no one saw the Travast Polong, I just got so angry that he ran out. The fact Louise was the one who was at the door made me so angry. I got jealous for no reason. I know you would never hurt me. I guess… I guess that I am just scared of losing you. More ways than one. I took everything I’m afraid of out on you. I made you feel so small and I feel horrible for that. I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane apologised. Through the day, she had thought about how horrible she’d been to John. She overreacted so much and he didn’t deserve that. She thought back to earlier in the day when they were at the restaurant with Luke and Sky and thought of how they laughed and talked. This was her family and John was such an integral part of it. She couldn’t imagine it without him.

“I’m sorry too.” John nodded as he looked up at her, “I should have understood how you were feeling. You have every right to feel that way, especially after everything I… we put you through. I’ve been so careless. I should have thought about things and how they would affect you. I can’t blame you for getting angry. I also shouldn’t have put what you were feeling back on you. To bring him up like that, it was wrong. It wasn’t fair on either of us.”

“You don’t need to apologise.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“But I do. I didn’t make it easy for you these past couple of days.” John replied, “Especially today.”

“Neither did I.” Sarah Jane nodded.

She looked at him and noticed a small smile appearing on his lips. John extended his hand out to her, letting her slip her hand into his as he gently pulled her towards him. They now held each other’s hands, John still sat on the edge of the bed as Sarah Jane stood over him. 

“I’m glad I had you with me today.” Sarah Jane said, resting her hands on his shoulders as John held her waist, “I would have hated to have been on my own.”

“Me too. But we’re not.” John smiled, “We’ve got each other and I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else. Even if we’re not on the best terms.”

Sarah Jane giggled as she bowed her head. She looked back at him as she then cupped his face. She brought her lips to his as she kissed him softly.

“I love you.” Sarah Jane said, her fingers stroking his hair gently.

“I love you too.” John replied.

The two kissed again. The kiss seemed to become more and more heated, clinging onto each other tightly. They kissed for a couple more seconds before breaking it off, pressing their foreheads against each other’s.

“You okay?” John asked softly.

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane nodded. She looked up at him, “Are you?”

“Yes.” John replied.

The two started to giggle, Sarah Jane throwing her head back as she laughed. The two started to kiss again, John lying back on the bed, Sarah Jane now on top of him. They kissed as John rolled Sarah Jane underneath him.

“I forgot to lock the door.” Sarah Jane said, a little breathless.

John said nothing as he got up from the bed, picking up the sonic screwdriver from his side of the bed. He aimed it at the door before turning back to Sarah Jane.

“Happy?” John raised a brow.

“Yes. Very happy.” Sarah Jane giggled.

John laughed with her as he joined her on the bed. The two started to kiss again, so grateful for one another.


	11. The Invasion of The Chelloth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar spaceship lands in the middle of the Mall in London.

A month later…

\- - - 

Sarah Jane rolled over as she grumbled at her radio turning on. She tiredly sat up, looking at the time. She suddenly felt arms wrapping around her waist, stubble tickling her shoulder. Sarah Jane giggled.

“Don’t get up.” John whispered, planting gentle kisses to her shoulder.

“I need to.” Sarah Jane replied.

“It’s a Sunday.” John groaned, “I don’t know why you insist on getting up so early all the time.”

“Waking up in the TARDIS messed up my body clock a little. I also like to get a lot done in one day.” Sarah Jane turned to him before going to get up.

“Again, it’s a Sunday. We have hardly anything to do today.” John brought her back into his arms.

Sarah Jane giggled as she turned in his arms to face him. They looked at one another, studying each other’s faces in the dim light of their bedroom. John pushed her hair out of her face before cupping her cheek gently. 

“What time is it?” John asked.

“Seven.” Sarah Jane replied.

“We should go back to sleep.” John suggested.

“Should we?” Sarah Jane raised a brow, moving closer to him

“What do you suggest we do, Miss Smith?” John asked.

“What do you think?” Sarah Jane smirked.

John started to laugh, bringing her closer to him. They started to kiss, holding onto each other tightly. Their hands searched each other’s bodies as they giggled softly, sure to not wake Sky.

Later on, Sarah Jane and John got up and got ready. When Sarah Jane came downstairs, she noticed Sky in the living room as she ate a bowl of cereal and watched television.

“Morning.” Sarah Jane walked into the living room. She kissed Sky’s head, “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah.” Sky took another mouthful of cereal before turning to her mum, “Luke texted earlier. He said that him and Sanjay are gonna be here around twelvish.”

“Okay.” Sarah Jane nodded. She walked around the couch as she joined Sky, “It’ll be nice to have Luke and Sanjay home, eh? A chance for us to relax.”

“Yeah. How long are they staying again?”

“I think just for this week. Remember they’re moving into their flat next week so we need to help. Thank goodness it’s the Easter holidays soon because none of us would have the time.”

“Do we have to carry a lot of boxes?”

“I’m sure your dad will insist on carrying all the boxes. You know what he’s like.”

“Did dad have super strength when he was the Doctor?”

“You know, I’m not sure. It wouldn’t surprise me.” Sarah Jane took a sip of her coffee before picking up the remote control, “Are you watching anything?”

“No.” Sky shook her head as she ate another spoonful of cereal.

Sarah Jane changed the channel to the news. There wasn’t anything very important on the news so Sarah Jane just relaxed, drinking her tea. She could hear John pottering about in the kitchen as she looked back over her shoulder. She chuckled to herself before turning back to the television. What she saw on the television made her heart drop.

“Breaking news just in. What seems to be an alien spaceship has landed in the middle of London. We are receiving pictures of the ship that has landed in the Mall, around fifty yards away from Buckingham Palace.” The reporter announced. The news showed footage of the spaceship in the Mall, “The Palace has informed us that the Royal Family are travelling to Windsor Castle as a precaution. The army are investigating but we are being told that there has not been any movement from the ship since landing around fifteen minutes ago.”

“John?” Sarah Jane called as she stood up. There was no response, “John!”

“What is it?” John walked through. He looked at the television, “What the… Not again. If this is the Slitheen-.”

“No, look. That’s not the Slitheen! Look at the ship.” Sarah Jane pointed at the television, “That’s the Chelloth. They’re back.”

John said nothing as he watched the television. Sky sat forward, biting her thumbnail nervously. She remembered what happened with the Chelloth last time and she felt her stomach turn. 

“What do we do?” Sky asked quietly.

“I don’t know.” John shook his head, “UNIT seem to be handling it. Maybe we should leave it to them.”

“Are you sure?” Sarah Jane looked at him, “How can we leave it to them? We’ve met them before. We need to know why they’re back.”

“We will find out. Look at the news. They’re showing us what’s happened.” John said.

“They won’t tell us everything.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

John said nothing as he brought her into his arms. It was a difficult discussion. He remembered what it was like when they first met the Chelloth and he was a totally different person compared to then. John felt nervous thinking about going against them again and the fact he didn’t want any of those old feelings to come to the service. He wanted to protect his family and his planet but maybe he should take a step back.

Almost on cue, they heard tires screeching outside. They all looked out the window to see black Land Rovers with the words ‘UNIT’ written on the side. Soldiers in black uniforms and red berets got out of the cars, fully armed.

“Not again.” Sarah Jane said under her breath as she led the way to the hall and out the front door. Soldiers approached her driveway, “Stop right there. None of you are getting on my property.”

“Sarah Jane?” A familiar voice called. Sarah Jane turned when she heard her name and saw a tall blonde woman approaching her.

“Kate?” Sarah Jane said softly. Kate approached her, hands in her pockets, “What is going on?”

“I need to talk to you. I’m sorry they had to come, I was ‘advised’.” Kate made quotation signs with her hands. She then noticed John and smiled at Sarah Jane, “Who’s this?”

“Oh, um, this is John. John, this is Kate.” Sarah Jane introduced them, “Kate, John is a duplicate of the Doctor.”

“What?” Kate frowned as she shook John’s hand.

“It’s a long story. Basically, this hand got cut off and then the regeneration energy was absorbed and I was… grown.” John laughed, wiggling his fingers, “The Doctor doesn’t look like me now though. Much younger, bow tie.”

“Maybe it’s best we go in.” Sarah Jane said as she grabbed John’s arm, “I’m sure we can have a proper catch up inside.”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Kate nodded with a smirk. She then turned to Sky and gave her a hug, “Hi Sky.” Kate turned back to the soldiers, “At ease.”

They all headed inside and straight up to the attic. John and Sky went to go make tea, leaving Sarah Jane and Kate in the attic.

“You’re with him then?” Kate raised a brow.

“What?” Sarah Jane turned.

“John. You’re with him, aren’t you?” Kate asked.

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Sarah Jane nodded. She itched her head, “I haven’t really told people. It’s been a bit chaotic to say the least.”

“That’s fair enough. How long have you been together?” 

“He came here around October time and then we got together not long after. Maybe a month later.”

“And where was he beforehand?”

“In the parallel universe. Oh, it’s a long story.”

“Dad always said it was you. You and the Doctor, he clearly knew there was something between you two.”

“Your dad was always the voice of reason. John is more than just the Doctor though.”

“I can imagine.”

“Right,” John announced his entrance, “Tea!”

“Just put the tray on the table, John.” Sarah Jane pointed.

John nodded as Sky and Kate went to get their teas. John walked over to Sarah Jane who stood next to Mr. Smith.

“Are you alright?” John asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I’m just unsure of what’s going on.”

“Well, we’ll find out soon.” John winked before kissing her forehead.

Sarah Jane watched as John rushed up the steps to grab his and Sarah Jane’s cups of tea.

“I assume you’re here about the Chelloth then, Kate?” John asked as he handed Sarah Jane’s mug to her.

“So that’s what they are?” Kate raised a brow.

“We met them last year. They went back home though.” Sky explained.

“Surely UNIT should know the Chelloth. One of the most powerful empires in the galaxy?” John raised a brow.

“You should know more than anyone that UNIT doesn't know everything.” Kate replied.

“What’s happening?” Sarah Jane asked.

“We have reason to believe that there is more than meets the eye.” Kate explained.

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane asked.

“We’ve been tracing them back to their planet. We found out they’re from Chellista 3. Apparently, there is some sort of disease going around. A virus. We know this because our scientists took swabs from the ship and somehow, the germs have carried onto our planet.” Kate said.

“And what does that mean? Does that mean that we could end up being contaminated with an alien disease?” Sky asked.

“Not necessarily. I think it’s more than that. We think that they have come to Earth to invade and take over. If this disease has grown out of control on Chellista 3, they could be planning to use our planet as a refuge and put our world at risk.” Kate replied.

“What do you want us to do?” Sarah Jane asked, “I know you’re not here for a catch up and tell us what’s going on. There’s more.”

Kate shuffled in her shoes as she bit her lip. She looked up at Sarah Jane finally as she put her hands in her pockets.

“We want you to reason with them. I think you could help us. Especially if you’ve met them before, they might have more compassion towards us.” Kate explained.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” John shook his head.

“Why not?” Kate frowned.

“Because I nearly killed them when they came here. I nearly killed Sarah Jane and Sky too. Who knows what they are planning to do now.” John replied.

“We could still help.” Sarah Jane turned to John, “It might not even be the same ones. They might not have a clue who we are.”

“What are the chances that this is the case? It would be too big a coincidence, do you not think?” John raised a brow.

“We can still help. We never back down.” Sarah Jane cupped his face. He looked at her and she could see a look in his eyes she had never seen before, “We’ll be okay. We’ll have each other.”

“Sarah Jane!” A voice called from the stairs. Soon, Clyde and Rani burst in as Sarah Jane and John stepped away from each other, “What’s going on?”

“It’s the Chelloth. Kate has asked us if we can help.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Is there anything we can do?” Rani asked.

“I’m sure we’ll be able to find something.” Kate said.

“What about Luke? I’m sure he could do something.” Clyde suggested.

“He’s on his way here with Sanjay. What do you think, Kate? I don’t want them in the line of fire though. I want them to be safe.” Sarah Jane said.

“They will be. I’ll make sure of it myself.” Kate nodded, “All of you will be safe.”

Sarah Jane nodded before turning to John. She could still see that look he had earlier and it made her stomach turn to knots. She took his hand, squeezing it softly. John finally smiled softly at her. They had each other and knew they could trust each other.

Sarah Jane let Luke and Sanjay know what was happening so they could head straight to the Mall. They headed into London in a large motorcade and Kate led the way to one of their large vans when they arrived. There was an office inside of the van with large screens in front of them which showed different views from outside. There were a couple of other UNIT officers and scientists working in the van.

“Has there been any movement at all?” Kate asked as she walked over to an officer.

“Nothing, ma’am.” The officer shook her head.

“What about the press?” Kate asked.

“There was a barrier set up but you know what they’re like. Someone from Sky News even knocked on that door. I’m sure it was actually Kay Burley.” The officer said, “Now there are a lot of helicopters flying by. They clearly don’t understand the instructions of ‘stay at the bottom of the Mall’.”

“Typical.” Kate shook her head. She then turned to Sarah Jane and remembered she was a journalist, “Sorry.”

“That’s alright. I’ll just rat you out later.” Sarah Jane teased.

“Ma’am, we have something!” Another officer announced.

“What is it?” Kate walked over to the other officer, Sarah Jane and John following after her as the kids stood near the back where they could see the monitors.

“We’re receiving some sort of call. I think it’s from the ship.” The officer said.

“Put them through.” Kate instructed.

The officers worked to put the signals they were receiving through. Finally, a Chelloth General appeared on the screen. It was clear he was on the ship, other Chelloth soldiers walking around behind him.

“Do you represent the human race?” The General asked in a deep voice.

“Yes. Yes, I do. I am Kate Stewart, the chief scientific advisor of UNIT, the military team surrounding your ship. Do you represent the Chelloth?” Kate stood straight.

“Yes. I am General Zel of the Eighth Great Chelloth Fleet.” General Zel said.

“Why have you come to Earth?” Kate asked.

“Our planet is unsafe. We hope that Earth will be welcoming to us.” General Zel said.

“This is a wind up.” Clyde whispered.

“Shh.” Luke hushed him.

“It is! Even if their planet is unsafe, there’s more to this!” Clyde replied.

“We need to give them a chance.” Luke said.

“They nearly killed us last time.” Clyde said.

“Shut up.” Rani hushed.

“How is your planet unsafe? If you don’t mind me asking.” Kate asked.

“A virus broke out. It’s killed so many of us. We knew we had to leave so we came here. We knew that Earth was safe for us.”

“Is that why you came to our planet in a battle fleet? To assess the conditions of our planet?”   
“Yes. We did not mean any harm.”

“This is a Level Five planet. You came to our planet as soldiers, not as refugees. Not just then. Now too. You are a General. You may think our race isn’t powerful but we are not stupid.”

General Zel started to laugh.

“We will be the judge of that, Doctor.” General Zel said.

Kate frowned. She never said her title was ‘doctor’. They had to be planning something.

“Dad!” Luke exclaimed.

Sarah Jane and Kate snapped around and watched as John started to fade away. Sarah Jane’s eyes widened. How were they doing this?

“John! John, take my hand!” Sarah Jane tried to grab his hand but couldn’t. John was speaking but no sound came out. He tried to hold her hand too but he became more and more transparent. He was like a ghost, “Don’t go. Don’t go. Please take my hand.”   
John soon faded away. There was silence in the office. Clyde and Rani kept Sky close to them. Rani held Sky tightly, Sky’s head at her chest. Sky held Luke’s hand as Sanjay then took Luke’s other hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Both Sky and Luke felt their hearts thunder in their chest. What were they going to do to him? What did they really want? Sarah Jane was frozen to the spot. How could he be taken away like that? Kate assured them on the way that they would be safe in the office, no matter what.

“Sarah Jane?” Kate’s voice brought her back to reality. Her hand rested on her shoulder, “Are you alright?”

“What have you done with him?” Sarah Jane walked over to the monitor. She wasn’t going to let them get away with taking away John so easily.

“There she is. The legend, defender of Earth. Sarah Jane Smith, it’s good to see you again.” General Zel said. 

It suddenly clicked. She remembered when Mr. Smith had told her that the Chelloth were a clone species like the Sontarans the night of her first encounter. A lot had happened that day and she had too much on her mind. She knew they would come back and she needed to know more about them. As she looked at General Zel on the large monitor, Sarah Jane noticed the scars on his face. The ship was close to self destruct.

“Not all of us survived.” General Zel said before pointing to his scars, “Not all of us recovered.”   
“But we got you home. We did our best to make sure you were safe.” Sarah Jane tried to reason.

“You did after he tried to kill us. And he did kill us. Some physically, some in other ways.”

“He wasn’t thinking. He thought that was the only way. He knew it was wrong. You don’t understand, he thought this was his only option.”

“Your Doctor isn’t totally human, you know. He still has a lot of that Time Lord in him.”

“So this is why you are here?” Sarah Jane stood straight. She bit her lip as she bit back her emotions, “To take him for his crimes? There is no virus?”   
“Oh there’s a virus. We would never lie about that. And we’re not only taking him for his crimes but for the Doctor’s too. There is one more thing. One more way to win over Earth.” General Zel announced. Sarah Jane shifted in her boots, waiting for more to be said, “I suggest the human race prepares for a new beginning.”

The Chelloth video cut off but suddenly writing appeared on the screens. The writing made Sarah Jane think of the Skasis Paradigm but this wasn’t that. This was Chelloth writing and it was taking its effect. 

“Sanjay?” Luke said.

Sarah Jane turned around to see Luke trying to help Sanjay. Sanjay stood upright and looked vacant. Luke gently slapped the young man’s cheeks, trying to get him to snap out of his trance. Sanjay talked in a foureign language. Sarah Jane couldn’t place what it sounded like but she knew it was not a human language. This was Chelloth. Some other officers and scientists in the office were also hypnotised like Sanjay and talking in the Chelloth language.

“Ma’am, it’s being broadcast everywhere. Every device in the world is showing this, we can’t stop it.” An officer said.

“Why aren’t we all affected?” Sky asked.

“It must be only some of us.” Rani said, “What do we do?”   
“We need to get them away from here. Take them to the infirmary.” Kate instructed, “Luke, it’s best you stay here.”   
“I can’t leave Sanjay. Surely there must be a way for me to stay with him.” Luke said.

Kate said nothing as she led him to some seats in the small reception area on the van. Rani and Clyde took to the vacant seats near the monitors, hoping they would be able to take the places of the officers who had been taken away. Sky walked over to Sarah Jane who silently stood as she watched the monitors, Sky could not tell if she had been affected and tried to look at her face. Sarah Jane’s face looked angry, her breathing shaky. Sky looked down to Sarah Jane’s hand that was clenched and Sky released her fist, slipping her hand into hers. Sarah Jane broke out of her thoughts and turned to Sky. Sky smiled at her, her eyes full of hope.


	12. The Rescue Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John is now on the Chelloth ship, trying to find a way to escape.

John was handcuffed as he watched General Zel’s conversation with Sarah Jane before the broadcast filled the screens of the control room. There were two soldiers that guarded John, keeping close to him and making sure that Sarah Jane couldn’t see him. John could tell Sarah Jane was scared and he wanted to run up to the screen and assure her that he was alright and he was going to stop this. When the link cut off and the broadcast began, General Zel stood in front of the monitors for a moment. He started to cough, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Are you alright?” John asked.

“Perfectly fine.” General Zel replied. John noticed that he seemed weaker as soon as he came off the link with Sarah Jane.

“That’s a bad cough you got there. Have you got that virus going about?” John asked.

“You know what this is, don’t you?” General Zel pointed as he ignored John’s question. John didn’t react but General Zel knew that he knew, “We are all over your world. Taking over the minds of every human being so they become our slaves. You underestimate us.”

“And you underestimate us. Especially my family and especially my Sarah Jane. She will stop you.” John said.

“Are you sure?” General Zel approached him. He knew how to taunt him, “I think your Sarah Jane will crumble in our power. She is not as strong as you think. Take him away.”

“She’ll stop you! You have no idea how smart and brave she is. She is stronger than me!” John said through gritted teeth as he was dragged out of the control room, “Let me go!”

John was led to cells on the further into the ship. He sat on the hard bed before he walked around the small cell. He tried to find ways to get out of the cell but it was deadlocked, at least on the inside. He paced the room as he thought about everything. Not far from him, John could hear bangs nearby but he assumed it was the Chelloth soldiers either outside the ship or not far from the cells. 

John didn’t focus on the bangs and went to sit on the bed again. He clasped his hands together as he sat forward, closing his eyes as he figured out how he would get out. Heavy footsteps approached which made John look up. They seemed to move past him but loud bangs on the heavy door made him jump. The peephole opened to someone who wore a black helmet that he recognised to be a UNIT helmet. The helmet totally covered their face.

“Are you here to get me out?” John approached slowly. He was not sure if he should trust them straight away.

The masked soldier said nothing as they proceeded to take off their helmet. Dark locks fell from the helmet and the soldier lifted their head. It was Sarah Jane. She ran her hands through her hair, a smirk on her lips.

“What do you think?”

“Sarah!” John smiled. He was so relieved to see her.

John rushed up to the peephole. Sarah Jane stood on her tiptoes, capturing his lips in a loving and relieved kiss through the peephole. The two looked at one another, both chuckling.

“Let me get you out.” Sarah Jane got out her sonic lipstick and pointed it to a control pad next to the door.

The door opened by itself and John rushed out to her. He took her into his arms as they hugged tightly. They broke off the hug as John looked at her outfit. She wore the black UNIT uniform but she was too worried about him to focus on her clothes.

“Are you alright? They haven’t done anything to you, have they?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No, no. I’m okay.” John shook his head as he looked at her clothes again, “Sarah, you might have to start wearing uniforms. This looks… it looks good.”

“We’ll talk about that later.” Sarah Jane giggled as she kissed him softly.

“Alright but can I make a suggestion now that you lose the gun when we do ‘talk’ about it?” John said.

“It’s to go with the disguise.” Sarah Jane slung the large gun onto her other shoulder before taking his hand, “We need to move.”

“How did you get onto the ship?” John asked as they walked through the ship.

“Teleport.” Sarah Jane pointed to a small device on her chest, “Kate got a team of soldiers to come in with me after I demanded to get onto the ship.”

“I can imagine she couldn’t say no.”

“You know I’m very persuasive.”

“Has anyone been affected by the broadcast?”

“Sanjay was. A few of the officers too. I don't know about the soldiers outside. We can’t see the news so we don’t know how far it’s got.”

“Is Sanjay okay?”

“I think so. I think he’s talking in Chelloth like the others and just vacant but Luke’s looking after him. He’ll be alright.”

“Were you affected?”

“Hypnotism doesn’t exactly work on me anymore.”

John noticed two Chelloth soldiers jogging down the halls near them and he grabbed Sarah Jane by the waist, pulling her into the dark shadows of the ship. They waited until they had gone past to walk out. The couple looked down the hall before back to one another.

“We need to get back to the control room. I think we could stop the broadcast.” Sarah Jane said.

“It’s this way.” John took her hand again and led her to the control room.

They were close to the control room and it didn’t take them long to get there. The UNIT soldiers that had came in with Sarah Jane had General Zel and a few other Chelloth soldiers surrounded. General Zel noticed Sarah Jane and John and started to chuckle.

“Miss Smith, so glad you could join us. I knew this would be your doing.” General Zel said.

“Shut up.” The UNIT officer closest to him said.

“Well, I like to be fashionably late.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

“Ma’am, before we got here, General Zel sent out Chelloth soldiers. I don’t know how bad it is out there.” An officer next to Sarah Jane informed her.

“Okay. Make sure we keep in contact with the others.” Sarah Jane nodded. She tried to push her worry down and focus on the matter at hand.

“They won’t survive. Either they will be killed or become our slaves. You can’t defend Earth anymore, Miss Smith.” General Zel laughed but started to cough again. Sarah Jane and John watched, knowing this was more than a mere alien cold that General Zel had.

“Are you alright?” The officer next to him asked, eyes and gun on him the whole time.

“I am fine. In fact, I am perfectly fit.” General Zel stood straight but suddenly collapsed.

Sarah Jane and John rushed over to him as General Zel leaned against the controls behind him. He propped himself up, coughing into his hands before looking at the yellow blood in his hands.

“General,” Sarah Jane crouched next to him, “You need to stop this. These are innocent people, you can’t punish them for one man’s crimes. We want to help you but we can’t if you put our race in danger.”

“The Chelloth Empire is the greatest in the galaxy. I will not stoop to your naive, puny, human ways.” General Zel said as he grew weaker and weaker, “Never. Never.”

“The Chelloth Empire could be the greatest in the universe if you stopped this.” Sarah Jane tried to reason.

“Never. Never.” General Zel continued to repeat. He started to close his eyes and soon his frantic breathing stopped. He was dead.

Sarah Jane looked at John who came closer to her. He helped her up before they looked at the monitors before them. They still showed the Chelloth writing and they weren’t sure how they were going to stop this.

“Do any of you know how to stop this?” John turned to the other Chelloth soldiers.

“No. Only General Zel knew.” A Chelloth Lieutenant said.

John ran his hands through his hair. He tried to figure how to fix this. Sarah Jane could tell he was stressed and tried to think of something too.

“What are our options? Can we shut down the ship? Would that work?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No, it will still go on even without the power of the ship. It’s being supported by something else.” John replied, “But what? What’s supporting it?”

“What about us?” Sarah Jane asked.

“What do you mean?” John frowned.

“He said it’s all over the world. TVs, computers, phones. It’s being broadcast everywhere. Surely there’s a way to shut down everything and it could stop the broadcast. At least make it easier for us to totally shut it down here.” Sarah Jane replied.

“A worldwide power cut.” John said softly before grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He cupped her face, kissing her forehead, “Sarah Jane Smith, you are a genius!”

\- - -

Rani and Clyde kept an eye on the screen as Sky walked around the room. Sky looked through the glass doors to Luke who stayed with Sanjay. Sanjay was still hypnotised and Sky could tell it was stressing Luke out seeing Sanjay like this. Kate sat with some officers, waiting patiently for them.

“Clyde?” Rani shook his arm as she stood, her eyes never leaving the monitors, “Look.”

Clyde turned and shot up when he saw it too. The two read the monitors and noticed the words in English.

“Shut down all electricity on Earth. It won’t take long. I think Mr. Smith will help.” Clyde read out loud, “He can’t be serious! How can we do that?”

“I think I could help.” Sky walked over to them.

“Sarah Jane will not be happy if you use your powers.” Rani reminded her.

“Mum might want me to help.” Sky said.

“We’ll need Luke too.” Clyde said.

“I’ll get him.” Kate nodded. She left the office to go out to Luke. He sat on a chair, his eyes always on Sanjay, “Luke? We need you in here.”

“What is it? I can’t leave him on his own. What if something happens to him?” Luke didn’t turn around.

“Your mum and dad want us to shut down all the electricity on Earth. We knew you could help.”

“Get my sister, she’d sort it out no problem.”

“We need someone to help us get into the systems. You can do that. Luke, you could help Sanjay. You have to try.”

Luke turned in his seat. He was silent for a moment, thinking about what he was being asked.

“What do I need to do?” Luke finally asked.

“If you help us get into the system, Sky will be able to use her powers to stop all the electricity supporting the broadcast.” Kate explained, “Rani’s calling Mr. Smith so he can help us hack into systems all over the world. Not just Britain.”

“Right.” Luke shot up before turning back to Sanjay. He looked back at Kate, “He’ll be okay there, won’t he?”

“Yes. He’ll be even better when you shut down everything too!” Kate added a little light to the situation.

Luke chuckled before him and Kate headed into the office. He sat at the desk next to Clyde, Rani on his other side. Clyde smiled when he saw his best friend join him as he pat his shoulder.

“Lukey boy!” Clyde laughed.

Luke grinned. He noticed the messages coming from John and Sarah Jane and chuckled to himself. Rani had managed to get through Mr. Smith and Luke was aware of him being on speakerphone, listening to him going through all the systems on the planet. Sky walked over to Luke, smiling at him. Luke smiled back, ready to go.

“All electrical systems on Earth locked on.” Mr. Smith announced, “You can begin.”

Luke, Clyde and Rani with the other officers started to hack into these systems. The support from Mr. Smith helped them gain access. The monitors showed different news channels and other sorts from all over the world as too everyone’s mobiles were going crazy. Kate watched anxiously as they all typed ferociously and knew Sky’s time for input was coming. She watched as Sky stepped forward slowly, lifting her hands up to the monitors as she started to use her powers on the technology. The effect Sky would have on these circuits would be huge and that power would then go through the worldwide circuits, causing the worldwide power cut (at least for five minutes).

Everything suddenly went dark. The monitors were blank and Sky stood back slowly. They all watched patiently, unsure if they had done it. Suddenly, a few words appeared on the screen when the lights went back on.

“You lot are brilliant!”

They all laughed, so relieved they were able to stop everything. They all celebrated, hugging and laughing. Luke rushed out of his chair as he went out to Sanjay. Sanjay still seemed the same as he stood but he had stopped talking in Chelloth. Luke went up to him, slapping his cheeks gently again. This time, it worked. Sanjay blinked a little before turning to Luke.

“What happened?” Sanjay asked with a frown.

“Oh, Sanjay.” Luke hugged his boyfriend tightly. He then cupped his face, pressing forehead against his, “You’re okay.”

“Was I hypnotised?” Sanjay asked, “My head feels funny.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you were.” Luke chuckled as he looked at him, “I’ll get you some water.”

\- - -

Sarah Jane and John were so proud of the kids for being able to stop the broadcast. They couldn’t wait to go tell them how proud they were. There were still UNIT soldiers surrounding the Chelloth soldiers, all armed.

“You need to leave.” John said, “Too much destruction has happened today. 

“We have no home to go to.” The Lieutenant explained earlier, “Chellista 3 is practically destitute.”

“Don’t you have somewhere else to go?” Sarah Jane asked, “Surely there were other planets you could go to? Safe planets that you can call your own.”

“General Zel was set on Earth. We just followed orders.” The Lieutenant replied.

“Your soldiers,” John said, “Get them back onto this ship. This battle is over.” He then pointed to the UNIT soldiers on the ship with them, “Stand down. You need to leave.”

“Yes, sir.” A few soldiers saluted and began to leave the ship.

The Chelloth soldiers in the control room started to call on the other soldiers to return to the ship. Some took away General Zel’s body as John was standing at the controls. Sarah Jane noticed him beginning to press buttons and she walked over to him.

“What are you doing?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I think I know a planet they can go to. Like you said, one they can call home.” John replied, “Totally deserted and perfect for them to inhabit.”

“So you are just gonna put the coordinates in and we can go?” Sarah Jane asked.

“It’s not as easy as that, Sarah.” John said.

“What do you mean?”

“I need to make sure they get there safely. That they know this is the place for them.”

“But they’ll manage on their own, I mean just stick it on autopilot and we can go home.”

“This ship needs to be flown. I’m the only one who knows the way.”

Sarah Jane studied his face and knew there was more. She could see the pain and determination conflicting in John’s eyes as he worked the controls. Finally, he looked at her. John’s heart broke as he looked at Sarah Jane. What he had to tell her was the worst thing he could.

“I need you to go. Go while you still can.” John said.

“I’m not leaving you. We have time, let’s just go.” Sarah Jane tried, a smile though her heart was thudding hard in her chest.

“Sarah, you have to. I can’t come back so easily.” John replied.

“You’re not leaving me either.” Sarah Jane shook her head. Her eyes stung as she looked at him. So many emotions swam around her head, she struggled to think straight, “We can go home. Just go home and be a family.” Her tears threatened as John’s face didn’t change. She whispered, “John, don’t do this. You can’t leave me.”

“I have no other choice. I have to take them.” John replied as he shook his head.

“But can’t you come back? Surely they’ll be able to bring you back?” Sarah Jane asked.

John shook his head silently. Tears now fell down Sarah Jane’s face. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The ship started to rumble, the engines now beginning to boot up and ready for take off.

“I thought you loved me. Loved the kids, our life here.” Sarah Jane said softly. She felt betrayed. Why would he want to leave her like this? Surely he would do everything in his power to come back home. There were too many emotions flying around her mind at the moment, “You said you came all this way for me. Was there any point?”

“I do love you. I love you and the kids so much.” John stepped away from the controls, his hands on her upper arms, “Sarah Jane, I have loved you since the day I met you. You mean everything to me.”

“Then why do you want to leave? You seem like you’re in a hurry.”

“I’m doing this for you, our planet. I’m trying to protect you and save their race. I need to help them. I have to repay what I did.”

“How can you say that? I waited for you my whole life. I thought you were dead. You’re now going again and it’s going to be the same vicious cycle. You can’t do this.”

“If I could change this, I would but I can’t. All I want is to be with you here. Forever.”

“Then stay.” Sarah Jane started to cry more. She did her best to keep her composure but her eyes hurt too much and her throat was too tight.

“I can’t. I can’t.” John shook his head. His eyes started to mist over too, “I’m so sorry.”

Sarah Jane closed her eyes. Her tears fell more. This wasn’t real. This was a bad dream. She was going to wake up and he would be asleep next to her. Holding her a little too tightly, snoring a little too loudly in her ear. She knew she couldn’t fool herself.

“What do I tell them?” Sarah Jane asked. She looked up at him, “What do I tell our children?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know.” John shook his head, “Just tell them that I love them and that I am so proud of them. They are the best, Sarah, they really are.”

Sarah Jane bit her lip. She sniffled, looking down to the ground. She shook her head as John made her lift her head, his hand on her chin. She looked into his eyes, green meeting brown. John tried a smile, tears now falling down his cheeks.

“You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Sarah Jane Smith.” John looked deep into her eyes.

Sarah Jane couldn’t say anything. She just cried. Her tears made John’s tears flow. He sniffled, pressing his forehead against hers. The fact he had to do this broke his heart but he had no other choice. He had to take the Chelloth to another planet and he had to make the sacrifice. The fact this was hurting Sarah Jane so much made it worse. He wanted to make it better for her, for the children. There were so many things he wished could make it better.

“I’m not leaving you.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “We go together. We’ll be able to come back.”

“You have to stay.” John cupped her face, “Please just stay.”

Sarah Jane said nothing as she just studied his face. She then grabbed his lapels, kissing his lips passionately. Their tears both streamed down their faces as they held each other tightly, the kiss going on for a few more seconds. They broke it off, pressing their foreheads together again. They lifted their heads, still so close to each other.

“How am I going to live without you?” Sarah Jane asked, “How will I do it?”

“You did it once before.” John chuckled, “You’ll do it again.”

“That was different. We weren’t like this. I don’t think I’ll survive.” Sarah Jane replied.

“You will.” John nodded, “You are strong. The strongest woman I ever met. That’s why I love you so much.” John then sighed gently, “I love you. I will always love you. I will never stop loving you.”

John let go of her face and Sarah Jane noticed him stepping back. She tried to keep a hold of his hands but she couldn’t for much longer. The look on John’s face was one she never wanted to see. He looked completely broken. John lifted his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at her.

“I’m sorry.” John shook his head. Tears fell down his face more and more, “I’m so sorry. I love you, my Sarah Jane.”

John activated his sonic screwdriver. Sarah Jane wanted to run up to him and stop him but before she could move, she landed on the ground. Sarah Jane looked around herself as she got up. She wasn’t on the ship anymore. She was in the Mall. Sarah Jane snapped around to see the ship beginning to take off. Her heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces.

Sarah Jane totally tuned out to the sounds around her as she walked up the Mall. The voices and traffic and cheers were totally silent. All she could hear was his last words to her and that spaceship flying away. He was gone. She couldn’t bring him back.

“Mum!” She suddenly heard behind her, “Mum!”

Sarah Jane slowly lifted her head to see Luke, Sky, Clyde, Rani and Sanjay all running to her. Her children. What was she going to tell her children? They seemed ecstatic, happy the day had been saved. Luke and Sky hugged her tightly but could tell something was wrong?

“Where’s Dad?” Luke asked, a small smile on his lips.

“He’s… he’s gone.” Sarah Jane replied.

“What?” Sky asked.

“What do you mean ‘gone’?” Luke asked.

“I mean he’s gone. He’s taking the Chelloth to another planet.” Sarah Jane explained, “And he’s not coming back.”

“But didn’t you stop him? He can’t have gone so easily.” Sky laughed. This couldn’t be real? He wouldn’t leave them.

“I tried to make him stay. I tried so hard.” Sarah Jane replied. She wanted to keep strong for them, “He said he had no choice. He had to take them there and that he couldn’t come back.”

Sky said nothing as she wrapped her arms around Sarah Jane’s waist and cuddled into her. Sarah Jane closed her eyes, resting her head on top of Sky’s. Luke couldn’t fathom what this meant. Why did he have to leave?

“I don’t even know what planet he’s gone to.” Sarah Jane said softly. That made her break.

Sarah Jane started to cry again, her eyes closing. Luke hugged his mother and sister, knowing he had to be there for them. Clyde, Rani and Sanjay watched on as their hearts broke for them. Clyde put his arm around Rani as they cried quietly, kissing her temple gently. How could he be gone? He had become such a big part of the gang. They were a family and it had now been taken away so easily.

\- - -

A week had now passed since the Chelloth invasion. Everyday was a struggle for Sarah Jane. Everything reminded her of him. She just wanted him back so they could have family dinners, chase after aliens, fall asleep on the couch to some god awful movie, make love into the wee hours of the morning. Hell, she would have even loved to have an argument with him. Just so she knew he was there to kiss and make up with later. But she couldn’t. He wasn’t coming back.

Mr. Smith tried to locate him the best he could but couldn’t find anything. Sarah Jane had to stay strong for the kids but she couldn’t. After trying to do everything in her power to stop John, she felt like she had failed them. It was hard to accept that he was gone but she couldn’t show that to them. That was only for when she was alone.

Luke and Sanjay were moving into their new flat today and Sarah Jane and Sky were helping them move in like they planned. It felt bittersweet as they pulled up to the flat, knowing John should have been there too. They remembered how excited he was to help them move in and was even buying them different kitchen appliances and promising to do all the work in the flat for them. They had got a van filled with Luke and Sanjay’s things and they would come in and out of the flat to get more boxes.

Sarah Jane was deep in her thoughts as she went down to get a box for the living room. The flat was on the first floor so going up and down stairs wasn’t an issue. Everytime she was alone, all Sarah Jane could think about was John. He never left her mind. She approached the van, grabbing the box that she needed. She looked through it for a moment to try and find some batteries when she was aware of shouting behind her. She didn’t pay it much attention, probably just some kids playing. She knew Sky and Luke had come outside before her but assumed they had gone back up and took the elevator.

Sarah Jane turned her head for a moment as she noticed someone who looked like John quite a bit down the street. Sarah Jane kept seeing people that looked like John and though it had only been a week, Sarah Jane had already given up looking for him. She didn’t question it until she realised who the man was with. She turned her and noticed Luke and Sky were with the man. They were hugging him tightly. Sarah Jane couldn’t see the man’s face but she could tell who it was. She watched as the three broke off the hug and talked with huge grins on their faces. Sarah Jane finally got a good look at the man’s face. It was John. He was back. But how? How was he back? Sarah Jane’s head was swimming and her heart was now beating fast. Sarah Jane put the box down in the van, her breathing now very shaky. John looked at Sarah Jane finally and there was no mistaking it was him.

When they made eye contact, it felt like everything stopped. It was just them on the planet, no one else. John smiled when he saw her. He thought he would never see her again. The image of her crying before he sent her away haunted him that past week. He had hurt her and that hurt him. John could tell she was still hurting as she watched him. Sarah Jane didn’t know what to do. Seeing him after everything made her question reality. She was so in disbelief that he was here. John started to walk slowly towards her. Sarah Jane started walking too, both their paces picking up. The two were now running to each other. The street they were on was long and it seemed like it took ages to run to each other. Finally, they reached each other and ran straight into each other’s arms. 

John lifted her from the ground, his arms tight around her waist. Sarah Jane buried her face into the crook of his neck, taking in his scent. Sarah Jane cried as he held her tightly. There was no mistaking that he was real. John buried his face into her hair, his arms wrapping around her waist tighter and tighter. They never wanted to let go of each other again. John finally put Sarah Jane down on the ground, both ready to speak as they broke off the embrace. Before John could say anything, Sarah Jane slapped him across the cheek. Hard.

“Don’t you ever do that again! What were you thinking?! You’re such a brute!” Sarah Jane shouted through her tears. John rubbed his cheek. He was shocked that she slapped him but he wasn’t totally surprised. He looked back at her and could tell her breath was shaky. 

Sarah Jane then grabbed him by the lapels, kissing him like her life depended on it. John wrapped his arms around her waist as Sarah Jane wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed for a few seconds before finally pressing their foreheads against one another. They closed their eyes, both sighing for a moment. Sarah Jane then hugged him, her head against his chest as she listened to his heartbeat. John kissed her head before resting his head on top of hers.

”Are you alright?” Sarah Jane asked, “They didn’t hurt you?”

”No, I’m okay.” John replied.

“How did you get home?” Sarah Jane asked.

“They had this teleport device, it reads your mind and takes you to where you want to be the most.” John explained, “I was in the attic but I knew you were here.” He started to laugh, “I didn’t even take the car, I just took the train and then ran here.”

Sarah Jane laughed. She finally looked up at him. Their faces were both streaked with tears and their eyes slightly bloodshot. They laughed as they looked at the state of each other, wiping each other’s faces. John’s cheek that Sarah Jane had slapped was red and she felt bad when she noticed. She cupped his cheek as she ran her thumb over it to soothe it before planting soft kisses on it.

“I’m sorry.” She said softly.

“No.” John shook his head, “I’m sorry. I wish I had found a better way to get them back.”

“You had no choice.” Sarah Jane replied, “You had to help them.”

“But I hurt you. I left you behind. I thought I was never going to see you again.” John said. He couldn’t believe how forgiving she was to him right now.

“You’re back now. Nothing will take you away from me.” Sarah Jane looked deep into his eyes, “Nothing at all.”

John grinned at her, hugging her tightly.

“I love you.” Sarah Jane said, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” John replied as he buried his face into her neck, “More than all the stars in the sky.”

They broke off the hug, kissing each other again. They giggled as they kissed, Luke and Sky coming to join them in a family hug. They held each other tightly, knowing nothing could tear them apart.

“Come on,” John broke off the embrace, “We better get cracking. We don’t want to leave Sanjay on his own.”

They started walking back to the van, talking about different things. They grabbed boxes and John was about to head inside when he noticed Sarah Jane was deep in her thoughts, simply leaning against the van, her box at her feet. He walked over to her, putting his box down next to hers. Sarah Jane noticed him and she frowned.

“What’s the matter?” John asked.

“Nothing. Nothing, it’s just overwhelming.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “You know how it is.”

“That’s not just it, is it?” John said, “There’s more.”

Sarah Jane sighed softly. A gentle breeze blew past them as she turned away for a moment. She looked back at him as she tucked her hair behind her ear. John was not sure what she was going to say. What was wrong? The worst came into his mind. Was she ill? Did she not love him anymore? Was she still angry with him? His heart dropped at the prospect of these and more.

“I think we should get married.” Sarah Jane finally looked at him.

John was shocked. That was the last thing he expected her to say. His eyes widened, a very shocked look on his face. The look on his face made Sarah Jane giggle a little.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am.”

“I thought you wanted to wait?”

“I’m tired of waiting for things. Besides maybe if we’re married, you won’t run off so easily.”

John chuckled. He then paused as he looked at her. This really was the last thing he expected when he thought about coming home today.

“Are you sure you want to marry me? You don’t want to wait?” John shook his head. He had to make sure she wanted to do this.

“I want to marry you.” Sarah Jane stepped forward, “I always did and I think it’s time. Unless you don’t want to.”

“No, no. I do! I absolutely do!” John ran his hands down her arms before holding her hands, “I want to marry you so much. I’m just surprised after we talked about it.”

“Well, after the week we’ve had, I think we should have something to look forward to.” Sarah Jane smiled, “What do you say? It’d be fun. It doesn’t need to be big, we could just go to a registrar offi-.”

“Shh.” John hushed her, his finger over her lip before he cupped her cheek, “It’d be great. It’d be absolutely brilliant.”

Sarah Jane smiled at him. John smiled back as he held her hands once more, squeezing them gently as he looked down at her hands. He then noticed her rings and he remembered.

“I haven’t got a ring for you.” John’s eyes widened.

“It’s alright.” Sarah Jane giggled as she bowed her head, “We can go get one.”

“Any in mind?”

“We’ll just see when we go to the jewellers. A little surprise.”

“We could then go look at receptions.”

“And Gita can do the flowers.”

“Sky could be a flower girl.”

“She’s a little old for that.”

“Well, her and Rani could be bridesmaids. And Maria if she can make it over. I’m sure they’d help you with your dress.”

“Uh huh. You and the boys could get your suits fitted.”

“And then a honeymoon. Where would you want to go?”

“Hmm. Maybe Italy, maybe Spain. Maybe Florana.”

The two started giggling. They were both so excited to plan everything and the idea of getting married to one another. John brought Sarah Jane close to him, kissing her softly.

“We’ll get a ring tomorrow. Make a day of it.” John smiled.

“You’ve got yourself a date. Although Sky will want to come along too.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I’d never object to that.” John chuckled.

Sarah Jane giggled with him. She stood on her tiptoes as her hands rested on his waist, kissing him quickly before picking up her box.

“Come on, let’s get these boxes in. The quicker we get everything sorted, the quicker we can get dinner.”

“Ooh, can we have a Chinese? I’m craving a Chinese. I tell you what, Chelloth food isn’t very tasty.”

Sarah Jane simply laughed as John followed after her, grabbing his box too. He caught up with her as the two laughed on the way up to Luke’s flat. Everything felt better already, especially with stuff to look forward to and looking forward to it together. 


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Sarah Jane and John’s wedding and there’s still some last minute guests to arrive.

Three months later…

\- - -

It was Sarah Jane and John’s wedding reception. They had got married a couple of hours ago and they had just listened to the speeches. John and Luke had made speeches and then Sarah Jane and John cut their cake. They laughed as they looked at the figurines on the cake and fed each other cake. The day had gone well and Sarah Jane and John could not be happier. The day was so sunny and the flowers seemed to be in full blossom. Sarah Jane had been nervous for the day, especially after her failed wedding to Peter, she almost expected the Trickster to show up. As soon as she saw John at the altar, she knew everything was going to be alright.

Soon, they had their first dance and everybody was dancing after that. John and Sarah Jane laughed as they talked with Maria and Sky. Sarah Jane decided to go to the bar and get herself and John some more drinks. She was about to walk back when she heard something. She turned to look out the window. It was the TARDIS. Sarah Jane’s heart dropped. She got her drinks before heading outside. Amy and Rory had just come out when they saw Sarah Jane and grinned at her.

“Hi!” Amy exclaimed.

“Hello.” Sarah Jane laughed. The two women hugged before she greeted Rory, “What are you doing here?!”

“We got an invite.” Amy giggled as she showed the TARDIS blue envelopes, “We also wanted to congratulate you and give you this.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have.” Sarah Jane said as she handed Amy and Rory the drinks and Amy handed her the large bouquet of flowers, “They’re beautiful! I’m assuming they’re not from Earth.”

“No. They were from a planet called Gapra. We went on a little holiday after we got our invite and we thought they were perfect.” Rory explained.

“Yeah and the Doctor said that it was tradition on Gapra to give those flowers to newlyweds.” Amy added. 

“They’re so beautiful. Thank you so much.” Sarah Jane grinned.

“Sarah?” John called. Sarah Jane turned around as John noticed Amy and Rory which made him smile, “The Ponds! Oh, it’s good to see you!”

“You too!” Rory laughed as he and Amy were greeted by John.

“Look what they brought us. Aren’t they lovely? Sarah Jane showed John the flowers.

“Oh, they’re amazing! From Gapra, yeah?” John asked.

“Yep!” Amy nodded before giggling. The door of the TARDIS squeaked open and closed which made them all turn, “Oh here he comes.”

“Smiths!” The Doctor exclaimed as he approached, “I can say that now that you’re married although you probably still had the same last name! It’s good to see you!”

“Hello, Doctor.” Sarah Jane giggled. The two hugged tightly. The Doctor was blown away at how beautiful she looked. Sarah Jane wore a long chiffon bridal dress with cuffed sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. Her hair was down and curled with some strands pinned back. She looked wonderful.

“Hello, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor said as he then broke off the hug. He went to shake John’s hand briefly. John wore a black tuxedo with black converses which the Doctor was keen to mention, “Nice to see the sandshoes didn’t miss the day out.”

“I can say the same for the bow tie.” John flicked the white bow tie the Doctor wore.

“Touché.” The Doctor chuckled, “Now, shall we do some dancing?”

“Yes.” Sarah Jane giggled, “Come inside, I’m sure the kids will be happy to see you. Amy, Rory, there’s a few others here that you should meet too!”

Sarah Jane and John led the Doctor, Amy and Rory inside. The kids greeted them as Sarah Jane sorted the flowers, leaving them with the rest of the wedding gifts. She turned away from the table of gifts as she noticed the Doctor dancing. The way he danced was… interesting to say the least. She laughed, unsure of what to think. 

“Hey.” John said as he walked over to her, handing her a glass of champagne.

“Oh, thanks.” Sarah Jane took the glass, “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” John winked as they clinked their glasses together. They both took a sip as they watched the Doctor, “He really can’t dance, can he?”

“Who are you to talk?” Sarah Jane laughed, “He didn’t exactly get any worse from how you dance.”

“I’ve actually improved since my time as a human began. Our first dance went well, didn’t it?” John raised a brow.

Sarah Jane giggled into her glass. John laughed too, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He brought her close to his chest as he kissed her forehead. She looked up at him.

“You alright?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I’ve never been better. Especially with my wife by my side.” John replied as he smiled at her.

Sarah Jane smiled. She wrapped an arm around his neck, kissing him as they held each other. They broke off the kiss as they looked deep into one another’s eyes. In that moment, it felt like it was just them. No one else. 

“I love you.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“I love you too, my Sarah Jane.” John replied.

They were about to kiss again when the Doctor appeared.

“Great knees up here!” The Doctor laughed as he approached them, “Love a party.”

“How did you get the invite? We did plan on sending you one but we didn’t know where we were going to send it to?” John asked, putting his arm around Sarah Jane.

“Let’s just say that your kids are persistent. Especially Sky.” The Doctor replied.

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Where’s River? Did you not bring her?”

“Uh no. We’re not the typical couple to say the least. She’s quite hard to keep track of.” The Doctor replied with a nervous grin.

“Oh, the perfect wife for you then?” Sarah Jane laughed.

“Yes.” The Doctor laughed, “Yes, my wife. You know, it is quite fun to say ‘my wife’. Wives are cool.” He then spoke in a fake serious tone, “‘Let go of my wife’.”

“‘Step away from my wife’.” John joined in, matching his tone.

“‘Get your hands off my wife’.” The two men said at the same time before they started to laugh. The two looked at Sarah Jane who wore a very confused look on her face, frowning at the two.

“Honestly, you’re like River. Ruining our fun.” The Doctor shook his head.

“Maybe me and River’s version of fun are very different from yours.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Dad?” Luke called for John.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” John said as he kissed Sarah Jane’s cheek, “Yes?”

Sarah Jane and the Doctor watched John walk over to Luke. They talked as they laughed, Sky soon appeared as she took John’s and dragged him to the dance floor. Sarah Jane laughed as she watched the two dance, Luke and Sanjay soon joining them with Maria. Rani and Clyde were already on the dance floor, laughing at something Sanjay just told them.

“Luke calls him ‘dad’ too.” The Doctor said.

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane nodded. She looked up at the Doctor, “It surprised me too. Especially with him not being there when he was at home.”

“He was always quite paternal towards him though, wasn’t he?” The Doctor put his hands behind his back.

“Yes. Yes, I guess you were.” Sarah Jane replied.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane looked at one another. The Doctor seemed to forget that John was his duplicate sometimes but seeing him with Sarah Jane like this was a constant reminder. Amy had been right. Sarah Jane was the one that got away. Or more the one he let go. The one he kept waiting. But now she wasn’t waiting. She had John. She had her family. She was happy and he was happy for her. Essentially, she was with him. She was with the man she said was ‘a tough act to follow’. But he wasn’t with her. Not the Doctor anyways. It was like when he left John in the parallel universe with Rose but it seemed to hurt more. The Doctor wasn’t that man anymore and after his time with Sarah Jane, he seemed to become a better man. A better man for the world and for Sarah Jane. 

“You look beautiful, Sarah.” The Doctor finally looked into her eyes, “Absolutely beautiful.”

Sarah Jane giggled softly as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She looked at him, rubbing her lips together a little. 

“You look great too. Very smart.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Gotta look my best for my best friend.” The Doctor straightened his bow tie. 

“You always look your best.” Sarah Jane smiled. 

“You’re happy, aren’t you? He makes you happy?”

“Of course. He always has made me happy. The both of you.” 

“I’m not him anymore.”

“Maybe not. But you’re still the Doctor, no matter what body you’re in.”

The Doctor smiled a small smile as he paused. He studied her face as she looked at him. He knew how she could say so little and it would mean so much. He remembered how she was like that when they met at Deffry Vale. ‘You were my life’ she had told him. He knew what she meant. He wished he could have told her that it was the same for him. That was one of the reasons he left her behind. The Doctor could not see her wither away and die and he will continue to live on. 

“What about you, Doctor? Are you happy?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Me? Yeah. Yeah, I’m happy. I’m always happy. I’m the king of happy.” The Doctor grinned, a nervous giggle leaving his mouth. 

Sarah Jane smiled at him but they both knew he was not totally telling the truth. She stood on her tiptoes as she kissed his cheek softly, her hand on his arm. She then stepped back as they looked into one another’s eyes. Her hand slid down his arm as he held her left hand. The Doctor ran his thumb over her knuckles, his thumb being stopped by her engagement and wedding rings. They made eye contact but before they could say anything, Sarah Jane felt her legs being hugged by a small child. Sarah Jane looked down and giggled when she noticed little August.

“Hello.” Sarah Jane giggled. She picked the young boy up, “Have you come to say hello?”

“Hiya!” August waved.

“Hiya.” Sarah Jane replied with a laugh. The Doctor laughed too, watching Sarah Jane talk to August.

Martha and Mickey soon came over and talked with the Doctor. A little later, Sarah Jane and the Doctor found themselves at a table full of their mutual friends. Amy, Rory, Mickey, Martha, Jo, Cliff, Ace, Kate, Liz, Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton. John soon joined them, sitting next to Sarah Jane as the Doctor sat on her other side. Martha bounced baby August on her lap as the Doctor spoke to him, making him giggle. The friends all laughed, telling stories about the Doctor that made both him and John blush.

As it got later on through the night, some guests were starting to leave and the party was beginning to wind down. The Doctor stood near the doors of the main entrance as he leaned against the frame. Slow music played and the lights framed the married couple in the middle. Sarah Jane and John danced slowly. Sarah Jane’s arms were wrapped around John’s neck, his arms wrapped around her waist. They swayed as they talked. They giggled softly before kissing one another on the lips before cuddling into each other once more.

Woah, my love, my darling

I’ve hungered for your touch

A long, lonely time

The Doctor watched the two with a small smile on his lips. Though his hearts hurt while watching them, he was happy for them and he knew she was happy. She deserved that. She couldn’t wait anymore. She had her someone and so did John. He knew he had to let her go.

“Hey.” Amy brought him out of his daydream with a hand on his shoulder, “You okay?”

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.” The Doctor nodded, his hands going into his pockets.

“It’s getting late. We better get going.” Amy said.

“Yes. Let’s go.” The Doctor nodded.

The Doctor turned to the doors, giving Sarah Jane and John one last look. They still danced and he didn’t want to stop them. He nodded to himself, following after Amy outside to the TARDIS. Rory was outside and waited with Amy as the Doctor went to unlock the door.

“Doctor?”

The Doctor turned as he saw Sarah Jane walking over to him. John followed after her, his bow tie now untied and his top button on his shirt undone. Sarah Jane wore a slightly worried look as she walked quickly to him.

“Are you leaving?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yes. Amy and Rory need to get home, they’ve got Rory’s dad coming for brunch or some such.” The Doctor rolled his eyes.

Sarah Jane said nothing as she wrapped her arms around him. The Doctor was a little surprised but he wrapped his arms around her. They held one another tightly. 

“Please don’t be a stranger. You’re always welcome.” Sarah Jane whispered.

“Always.” The Doctor nodded. He broke off the embrace as he smiled at her.

The Doctor then shook John’s hand once more. Sarah Jane and John then said goodbye to Amy and Rory as the Doctor let them into the TARDIS. The Doctor looked back at the newlyweds and smiled.

“I’ll see you again, Smith.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Until next time, Doctor.”

The Doctor nodded with a smile as he headed into the TARDIS. Sarah Jane and John watched as the TARDIS started to disappear, wind blowing towards them as the sound of the TARDIS filled the air. Sarah Jane watched the time machine disappear, a small lump in her throat forming. She had no idea when she would see him again or if she even would but as she felt an arm wrap around her, her thoughts soothed. Sarah Jane turned to look at John who smiled at her.

“You alright?” John asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded. She grinned, “I’m brilliant.”

“Indeed you are.” John replied.

Sarah Jane smiled. She wrapped her arm around his waist, cuddling into him. John kissed her temple as they looked at one another.

“Let’s head inside. We’ve still got time.”

Sarah Jane nodded. The two turned together as they headed back inside to their wedding reception. They never dropped their embrace, keeping close to one another. Sarah Jane rested her head on John’s shoulder. There was no reason to wait anymore. They had each other finally.


End file.
